Will Aston Villa make Coutinho’s loan permanent?

Philippe Coutinho’s January loan move from Barcelona to Aston Villa has so far been a resounding success for the English side. After scoring in a 2-2 draw against Manchester United on his debut, the Brazilian also scored one and assisted two other goals in a 3-3 draw with Leeds and then scored and assisted in Saturday’s 4-0 victory over Southampton.

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Steven Gerrard is delighted with how his former teammate has been performing since returning to the Premier League. After Saturday’s win, the coach said: “We've got Coutinho back fit and in a really good place. He was back to his Liverpool form today and he was a touch above. The other players have got a lift from him. When Phil is in the mood, he is a world-class player. He probably finished my career a couple of years early, he's the reason I've got screws in my knees and groins!”

What is Aston Villa’s Coutinho purchase option?

With Coutinho performing so well since returning to the Premier League, where he has played the best football of his career, Aston Villa are starting to plan for next season and considering triggering the purchase option included in the loan deal.

It is believed that the non-obligatory purchase option agreed with Barcelona is €40m and that Aston Villa currently view this as too much. According to Catalan publication Sport, the English side will reject this option but will try to negotiate a lower fee with Barça.

However, it has been reported by Cadena SER that Tottenham also have a purchase clause agreed with Barcelona for Coutinho, also at €40m. They were also linked with the 29-year-old in January and, even though Aston Villa won the race to bring him in on loan, Spurs were reportedly written into the contracts and can sign the player for €40m this summer if Aston Villa say “no” to their own purchase option.

Therefore, if Aston Villa plan to reject the already-agreed terms in order to negotiate a lower fee, they risk Tottenham swooping in and signing the player for themselves.

There is also the risk that Barcelona could decide to keep Coutinho if Aston Villa don’t agree with the existing terms, since his contract there runs until 2023. The Blaugrana paid €135m for him in 2018 and might not wish to go much lower than €40m for a player back in form.

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How much of Coutinho’s wages are Aston Villa paying?

If Aston Villa do sign Coutinho on a permanent transfer in the summer of 2022, they’ll have to agree a wage package with the player and could have to pay more than they are currently.

With the Brazilian earning €24m per season at the Camp Nou, his salary for the second half of 2021/22 is €12m, yet Aston Villa are only paying €8m of that.

They’d have to factor in significant wages on top of the permanent transfer fee, so there is still a lot for those in charge at Villa Park to consider. The decision on Coutinho’s future could, therefore, come much closer to the summer.