‘Desperate’ Barcelona to play ball as Villa plan to snap up Coutinho for major transfer discount

Aston Villa plan to negotiate with Barcelona over the fee for a permanent return to the Premier League for Philippe Coutinho, a report has claimed.

The former Liverpool midfielder’s arrival at Villa Park has already proved one of the signings of the season. Indeed, Villa acted quickly to snap the Brazilian up on loan in January and he has not disappointed.

In fact, he has scored two goals and assisted two others in his first three games back in the top flight.

On his debut, he got the equaliser as Villa came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Manchester United. Meanwhile, he starred in Wednesday’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Leeds United.

Villa and Barcelona negotiated a €40million (£33million) option to buy clause in Coutinho’s loan deal.

According to Birmingham Live, though, there is a chance for the Midlands side to drive the fee down.

Barcelona are supposedly ‘desperate’ to get Coutinho off their books following his struggles at Camp Nou.

As such, the source claims that the midfielder’s parent club could accept a £25million fee for a permanent deal for him.

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Spanish source Sport adds that Villa will also ask for Coutinho to drop his wage demands. The Premier League side are currently paying £125,000 of his £380,000 per week wage.

Nevertheless, there is a real chance Barcelona will be happy to negotiate with Villa.

Coutinho will have one year left on his Camp Nou contract when he is scheduled to return there in the summer. Between now and then, though, Barca’s new recruits could have settled well.

Indeed, head coach Xavi brought in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Adama Traore and Ferran Torres in attack in January.

As such, Coutinho – who has struggled for form at Barcelona anyway – may find it even tougher to make his mark. In that sense, Barcelona would be wise to sell up for a fee before the midfielder’s opportunity to leave as a free agent opens up.

Gerrard would love Coutinho stay

One man who will be pushing Villa to sign Coutinho permanently is manager Steven Gerrard.

The 41-year-old shared a fantastic relationship with Coutinho while the pair were team-mates at Liverpool.

And Gerrard is subsequently the perfect coach to manage the midfielder and offer him the support and guidance he needs.

Indeed, Gerrard claimed on Wednesday that Villa fans got to enjoy “vintage Coutinho” against Leeds.

As such, if Villa can tie the player down to a long-term deal, he could be crucial as the club look towards pushing for European football in the seasons to come.