Brendan Rodgers has been speaking about Aston Villa’s acquisition of Philippe Coutinho recently.
It was the former Liverpool manager who introduced the Premier League to Coutinho by bringing him to Anfield back in 2013.
Five years later, the Brazilian magician joined Barcelona in a £142 million transfer but the fact that he’s now at Aston Villa – albeit on loan – ought to illustrate that his stint at Camp Nou wasn’t a successful one.
The Spanish colossus even loaned Coutinho to Bayern Munich at some stage, again underlining his struggles in Catalunya.
And the Leicester City manager has admitted that he’s shocked his former player didn’t succeed in Spain, claiming it looked, on paper, as being a match made in heaven.
He told The Mirror: “I have to say I’m quite surprised it hasn’t worked out for him at Barcelona, because I thought if ever there was a player and a club which were aligned, it was probably those two.”
Exciting
Coutinho’s move to Bodymoor Heath has reunited him with Steven Gerrard, whom he played alongside at Liverpool.
And excitingly, Rodgers, who knows the player as well as anyone, has claimed that his old signing will thrive at Aston Villa under the Anfield icon.
He added: “If he feels that love, and he feels that responsibility, then he’ll thrive. I’m sure he’ll do really well for Steven, he just needs to get back playing regularly. He’s shown in the Premier League he’s a top player, and he’ll look to return to that level.”
Rodgers’s predicition will be music to the ears of Villans everywhere.
With a signing like this, the fear is that the player will impress in short bursts without ever rediscovering the form which made him one of Europe’s biggest players.
However, as mentioned, the Northern Irish manager knows Coutinho, and Gerrard, and if he feels that those two are compatible then that’s really exciting.
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