Philippe Coutinho has been confirmed as a reinforcement for Aston Villa, from England

Barcelona announced, on Friday morning (07), the loan of midfielder Philippe Coutinho to Aston Villa, from England, until the end of the season. The Brazilian will be loaned out until the middle of the year, that is, until the end of the season, with the option to buy at the end of the period. Despite the official announcement already made by both parties, the midfielder still needs to undergo medical examinations and obtain a work permit in the UK.

Coutinho is expected to arrive in Birmingham within the next 48 hours to introduce himself to the new club. The current Aston Villa coach, Englishman Steven Gerrard, asked him to his former teammate in Liverpool, when the midfielder lived the best moment of his career, specifically in the English Premier League dispute. They worked together between 2012 and 2015. At Aston Villa, Philippe Coutinho will also meet another friend: midfielder Douglas Luiz, former Vasco. Currently, both of them are teammates of the Brazilian national team.

The idea of ​​Gerrard and the athlete himself is to re-confront with good football. Since his appointment by Barcelona in 2018, Coutinho hasn’t been able to replicate the good performance for other moments. In 106 official matches for Barcelona, ​​he scored only 26 goals, and also accumulated a loan for Bayern Munich, where he was the champion of the Champions League in the 2019/2020 season.

Previously, the Brazilian has been speculated on other European football teams such as Newcastle and Arsenal, both of whom are from England. Recently, his name has also been associated with Flamengo, especially while directors Marcos Braz (Vice President of Football) and Bruno Spindel (Director of Football) are in Europe, in search of a new coach for the club.