Aston Villa snapping up Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona certainly had all the hallmarks of a classic ‘marquee signing’. The sort of arrival that would make the rest of the Premier League sit up and take notice.
Indisputable proof that Villa’s bite is just as strong as their bark.
View at it from another perspective, however, and Coutinho’s arrival takes on a rather different look.
Ask yourselves this; If the Brazil international’s reputation had not taken such a beating at Barcelona, would he really have been attainable for a club sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
The presence of his former Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard on the Villa Park touchline did much of the legwork too.
Yes, Coutinho is Aston Villa’s most high-profile signing in years. But he also arrived looking to drag his once sky-high status off the canvas. And, in truth, there wasn’t exactly an influx of serious offers for a now-29-year-old playmaker who’s been off-colour, to put it kindly, since 2017.
Aston Villa’s biggest signing of the Century?
That’s why Kalidou Koulibaly, linked spectacularly by Italian publication Tuttomercatoweb, would immediately relegate Coutinho to a distant second-place in the list of Aston Villa’s most eye-catching 21st century signings.
The Senegal international may turn 31 this summer but he’s still very much at the top of his game. His imperious form is a major reason why Napoli are still in the mix for their first Serie A title since Diego Maradona’s Stadio San Paolo heyday.
Those with long memories may remember that, back in 2019, Koulibaly outshone Virgil van Dijk in a Champions League clash with Liverpool too. He has more pedigree than the backstage of Crufts.
And, even as he approaches the twilight of his career, the only reason why Koulibaly is within the grasp of a club of Aston Villa’s ilk is because his contract has just 12 months left to run.
Two years ago, a defender labelled ‘the best in the world’ by Carlo Ancelotti was valued at a staggering £90 million. Now, Koulibaly can be snapped up for around a third of that.
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“(Napoli boss Luciano) Spalletti has the best defender in the world. Obviously I am talking about Kalidou Koulibaly,” former Serie A coach Claudio Onofrio told AreaNapoli in December.
Three years ago this week, Mile Jedinak started at centre-half as Aston Villa defeated Millwall 1-0 thanks to a Jonathan Kodjia winner. How times have changed. How expectations have changed, too.
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