As reported by Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona and Aston Villa have reached a total agreement over a transfer for Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian playmaker will join the Premier League club on a permanent basis, with an announcement imminent.
Coutinho joined Barcelona in January 2018 from Liverpool but has endured a torrid time in Catalonia. Having failed to revive his career at Camp Nou despite a decent enough loan spell at Bayern Munich in 2019/20, the 29-year-old had become out of favour at the club.
A loan move to Aston Villa during the January transfer window earlier this year came as a relief for both Coutinho and Barça. The midfielder reunited with his former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard at Villa Park and has rediscovered his form.
Since joining the Midlands club, Coutinho has made 16 appearances, in which he has produced a return of four goals and three assists.
At the time of the loan deal, Barcelona had inserted a €40 million permanent transfer option that the Villans could trigger at the end of the season. And, Gerrard had never hidden the fact that the Midlands outfit intended to keep Coutinho at the club beyond the current campaign.
Recent reports indicated that negotiations between had advanced over a permanent transfer for the Brazilian, with a deal worth around €20 million – half of the initially agreed-upon amount – being touted.
Now, Romano has confirmed that the two clubs have reached a total agreement over the deal and an announcement is expected to be made shortly. The Italian transfer expert adds that Gerrard’s presence played a key role in Coutinho deciding to join Aston Villa permanently.
One of the highest-paid players at Barcelona, his departure on a permanent basis should free up a lot of space on the Catalan giants’ wage bill, which will be a boost for their transfer plans ahead of the summer window.
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