Forgotten Aston Villa flop Philippe Coutinho ‘set for £5m transfer’ just six years after Barcelona paid £140MILLION
PHILIPPE COUTINHO could seal a £5million move away from Aston Villa this summer.
The midfielder, 31, has played just 24 minutes for the club since February 2023.
However, he still has two years remaining on his contract at Villa Park after his loan from Barcelona was made permanent in 2022.
Coutinho is attracting interest from his native Brazil, though, according to reports.
TNT Sports Brazil report that Vasco da Gama are ready to make a loan move for the playmaker.
Their approach would also include an obligation to buy, with Villa asking for between £4m and £6m.
Coutinho began his career at Vasco before he was sold to Inter aged 16, but did return for a two-year loan spell between 2008 and 2010.
He has also been linked with a move to MLS side Inter Miami, where Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez currently play.
His potential cut-price return to Brazil comes just six years after Barcelona signed him for £140m from Liverpool.
The 2018 transfer remains the third-highest transfer fee of all-time.
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Meanwhile, Villa spent £17m on Coutinho two years ago after he scored five goals and laid on three assists in 19 appearances on loan from Barca.
He went on to score just once in 20 league matches last season, though, as he fell out of favour under Unai Emery.
Coutinho was even made available for transfer last summer before sealing a loan move to Qatari side Al-Duhail.
The Brazilian has gone on to score six goals in 20 appearances during his loan stay.
Injuries have continued to hamper his career since his move to Barcelona in 2018.
Multiple hamstring issues and a serious knee injury have seen Coutinho miss 84 matches for Barca, Bayern Munich, Brazil, Villa and Al-Duhail across the last six years.