Aston Villa’s focus, this summer, is likely to be centred on keeping that Champions League-qualifying core together.
Unai Emery has already been convinced to extend his contract at Villa Park, seeing off interest from Bayern Munich along the way.
The likes of Boubacar Kamara, Pau Torres and star striker Ollie Watkins are likely to have their fair share of admirers too, with a deep-pocketed Aston Villa outfit likely to face yet more tests of their ambitions in the coming months.
For Vasco da Gama, in contrast, change is coming. Not just on the pitch but off it too.
Alvaro Pacheco, Vasco’s new head coach, hadn’t even touched down in Brazil before he was being asked about the prospect of bringing in Philippe Coutinho to work alongside him in South America.
Aston Villa to green light Philippe Coutinho exit
Aston Villa’s £17 million forgotten man is expected to be let go again this summer, having been loaned out to Qatari outfit Al-Duhail in 2023. Last week, Vasco da Gama’s president Pedrinho confirmed that talks with the former Liverpool, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Bayern Munich playmaker were underway.
And while Emery may not be too keen to work with a player who appears to have left behind by the transition towards high-pressing in the modern game – Coutinho feeling like something of a tape deck in a Tesla these days – it’s fair to say Pacheco does not share the Spaniard’s indifference.
“We’ve been talking about a lot of things, but all of this is changing quickly. Philippe Coutinho’s trajectory and CV speak for themselves,” Pacheco tells O Dia.
“He’s a super experienced player, with a fantastic career. If he comes, he’ll be very welcome by everyone.”
Coutinho made a bright start to life at Villa Park, returning to England after falling out of favour at a Barcelona outfit who once invested £142 million to bring him to Catalonia. The departure of his former Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard – and the subsequent appointment of Emery – soon had the Brazil international slipping down the pecking order again, however.
Aston Villa have since added further depth in the attacking midfield roles after bringing in Moussa Diaby and Morgan Rogers from Bayer Leverkusen and Middlesbrough respectively.
Villa eyeing further midfield options
HITC reported last week, meanwhile, that the Midlanders had opened talks with Paris Saint-Germain about an audacious deal for their £17 million Spain star Carlos Soler. There is interest in Villarreal playmaker Alex Baena too, a player Emery knows and loves from their time together at the Castellon Coast.
Baena has a remarkable 17 assists to his name this season. Villarreal president Fernando Roig, however, insists that offers for the academy graduate will not be welcomed.
“Baena is a player for Villarreal in the coming years. We are betting heavily on Baena,” Roig tells Diario AS when asked specifically about that Aston Villa interest. “I think that, in the coming seasons, he will still grow and be a better player. Baena is a great player.
“We do not talk about hypotheses or the future. We are not (interested) in that right now. The important thing is that Baena is a player who has grown a lot at Villarreal, and my intention is for him to continue growing here.
I don’t like to talk about hypotheses. Although I always say that there are three parties (in a deal). And that, if all three parts agree, it can always be closed.
“But, right now, it is not an issue we are working on.”
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