Aston Villa star on huge wages attempts to force summer exit; Emery ready to give green light

Aston Villa signed Phillipe Coutinho from Barcelona in 2022 for £17.2m after he spent a successful six months on loan with the Midlands side.

He was handed a huge contract worth £125,000-per-week but despite a good start at Villa Park, has never lived up to the hype around his name.

Coutinho has fallen down the pecking order at Aston Villa and Unai Emery opted to send him out on loan to Al-Duhail at the start of this season.

The 31-year-old has scored six goals and made three assists in 21 appearances for the Qatari side but he is now ready for his next challenge and wants to return to his native Brazil.

According to reports from South America, Coutinho is not part of Emery’s plans for the future and will happily green light his departure this summer.

Coutinho’s big wages make it likely he’ll have to accept a big pay cut if he does want to leave and Villa would probably have to accept a cut-price fee for him.

READ MORE: Aston Villa outdo Tottenham again by joining race for Chelsea star; talks open over second midfield addition

Coutinho ‘dreams’ of returning to Brazil

Reports suggest that Coutinho is ‘determined’ to return to Brazilian side Vasco de Gama, where he graduated as an academy player.

All parties are said to be ‘in favour’ of a transfer and Vasco’s president has confirmed that talks have ‘already taken place.’

However, a deal will not be straightforward because Vasco are currently in the midst of a financial crisis. The club was taken off the hands of owners 777 Partners recently in court amid fears of bankruptcy.

The American firm have been attempting to take over Everton in recent months, but their deal with the Toffees’ majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri is on the brink of collapse.

777 are trying to take control of the club back but the dispute has ‘had an impact’ on negotiations over Coutinho’s future.

The attacking midfielder is ‘hopeful a solution can be found’ as it’s his ‘dream’ to return to Vasco this summer.

Getting Coutinho’s wages off the books will be beneficial for Villa as they look to bolster their squad ahead of next season.

Emery’s side want to bring in reinforcements as they prepare for their first Champions League campaign since 1983, when it was still known as the European Cup.

DON’T MISS: Jack Grealish to Aston Villa? Reasons for and against stunning return