Philippe Coutinho will undergo a fitness test on Wednesday, with Aston Villa hopeful the midfielder can debut against Manchester United after his loan transfer from Barcelona.
That’s according to the Express & Star, who report Steven Gerrard is keen to afford the 29-year-old his Villans bow. But the Brazilian must prove his fitness before possibly featuring.
Aston Villa signed Coutinho in a half-season loan on Tuesday, after Gerrard insisted on the Birmingham natives bolstering their attack. The West Midlands outfit have scored 11 goals over nine fixtures in all competitions since hiring the former Rangers boss in November.
Gerrard considered attacking signings a priority following a number of injuries to the Villa Park offence this term. International call-ups and doubt in Carney Chukwuemeka’s future in claret-and-blue also strengthened the Liverpool legend’s desires for fresh options joining.
Coutinho will spend the rest of the season with Aston Villa, who hold a £33m option to turn his loan transfer from Barcelona permanent in the summer. Per Sky Sports, the former Reds star also took a pay cut to join Gerrard’s side. They will cover less than 50% of his pay.
Barcelona ace Coutinho set for fitness test after Aston Villa loan transfer
Aston Villa will put Coutinho through a fitness test on Wednesday after his Barcelona loan transfer to decide if Gerrard can hand the maestro his debut against Manchester United.
Coutinho has only started five fixtures all season so far over 16 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions. He last opened a match on December 4 when Xavi Hernandez fielded him against Real Betis. His last start before the Camp Nou clash also came on October 30.
Additionally, Coutinho has recently recovered from Covid-19 and has not featured since playing nine-minutes on December 12 at Osasuna. He has also averaged just 38-minutes per appearance this term. So, Gerrard is keen to determine if he is fit to feature for Villa.
Gerrard will consider handing Barcelona loanee Coutinho his debut against Manchester United on the advice of Aston Villa’s medical staff. The Villans can do a Premier League double over the Red Devils by winning. They won 1-0 at Old Trafford back in September.
The Villans will be without three forward options in Leon Bailey, Trezeguet and Bertrand Traore on Saturday. So, it is little wonder Gerrard – who has been full of praise for the midfielder – wants Coutinho to make his Aston Villa debut against Manchester United.
“I have trained against him on a daily basis and played with him and he is a phenomenal footballer. He can do magical things with the ball,” Gerrard said in 2017, via Goal. “He is the type of player you want to build your team around.”
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