Aston Villa

Aston Villa

Premier League • England

Gerrard plots Liverpool-disrupting deal with Aston Villa eyeing blockbuster Prem raid

Liverpool stars Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold trying to dispossess Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma

Steven Gerrard could snatch a Premier League target Liverpool have chased after a report revealed Aston Villa are targeting an impressive in-Premier League coup.

Gerrard has already utilised his past Liverpool connections to help secure the arrival of Philippe Coutinho on loan. The Brazilian will look to recapture his pulsating best at Villa Park after his Barcelona dream turned into a nightmare.

Many expected Gerrard to be promised money to spend when he elected to ditch Rangers for Aston Villa. And according to Sky Sports, the Coutinho coup may not be his final act this month.

They report Aston Villa are eyeing up Liverpool target, Yves Bissouma.

The Brighton star, 25, has developed into one of the league’s most effective midfielders. He has regularly been earmarked for a move to a club competing for top honours, most notably Liverpool.

The Reds opted against signing a direct replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum last summer. And with James Milner now 35, one school of thought suggested a midfield addition might be on the cards in 2022.

Aston Villa complete loan signing of Coutinho

Aston Villa complete loan signing of Coutinho

Aston Villa and Steven Gerrard have pulled some strings and secured the signing of Coutinho on loan from Barcelona

Bissouma – who could command a fee upwards of £40m – was confirmed to have been a long-time target at Anfield in October.

But per Sky Sports, Villa are looking to steal a march and deprive Liverpool of what would be a fantastic addition to their midfield.

Contract status offers Steven Gerrard hope

Bissouma is currently on AFCON duty with Mali and has entered the final 18 months of his contract with the Seagulls.

That puts Brighton in a precarious position for arguably their most valuable asset. If they cannot convince him to pen fresh terms, a sale will quickly become an option and there will be no shortage of suitors.

Nonetheless, Graham Potter recently insisted he expects no players to leave the AMEX this month.

“I’d expect all our players to be with us at the end of January,” Potter said in a press conference on Thursday. “There is lot of speculation out there, but nothing to report”.

Coutinho transfer rated amid Villa warning

Meanwhile, Villa are not getting the same Coutinho who lit up the Premier League at Liverpool, one pundit has warned.

Coutinho has joined Gerrard’s side on loan until the end of the season. However, the deal also features an option to buy set at around £33m.

talkSPORT firebrand Simon Jordan praised the Coutinho deal. However, he warned Villa that the 29-year-old has changed significantly since he left Liverpool four years ago.

“I think it says a lot about Steven Gerrard and his ability to be able to attract certain players because initially this is a relationship born out of Liverpool,” Jordan told talkSPORT (via the Birmingham Mail).

“Look, on paper it looks like a wonderful signing. This is a player who has played 99 games over the last four or five years. So it’s not the same player who left Liverpool, who really set the heather on fire.

“It’s also a clever move from Villa because there’s no transfer fee involved. I would add that there’s probably at best 50% of the wages being covered.

“So in Premier League terms, while it has stardust over it and it looks like a great piece of business, in economic terms, in a January window, Villa have gone out and spent about seven or eight million quid.

“They’ve gone and got a player. Picked up half of his wages, say £150,000 a week and gone and got him for 26 weeks. So when you look at it from that point of view it looks like something that will really get people’s interest going.”

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