Philippe Coutinho is now waiting for Aston Villa to give the midfielder the green light to finalise his transfer to Al Duhail after agreeing to personal terms with the Qatari club.
That is according to Fabrizio Romano, who claims that Coutinho now has a full agreement in place with Al Duhail. But the Qatar Stars League side are still yet to meet Aston Villa’s asking price for the 31-year-old. So, Unai Emery has not yet given the Brazilian permission to leave.
Negotiations are still continuing between Al Duhail and Aston Villa. The Qatari side are now determined to make Coutinho their latest signing after getting the Rio de Janeiro native on board with the move. They will continue to push to make it happen until the window ends.
Coutinho waits for Aston Villa after agreeing to Al Duhail transfer
Qatar Stars League sides have until September 18 to conclude their transfers, unlike Premier League clubs. The market slams shut on September 1 in England, so Aston Villa will have less time to replace Coutinho. But he is not a key part of Emery’s plans in Birmingham this term.
Emery has only fielded Coutinho sparingly through Aston Villa’s opening two matches of the term. The 68-cap playmaker, who Roberto Firmino claims has ‘magical powers’, played just three minutes against Newcastle United and played for only 21 minutes at home to Everton.
Coutinho has not been a huge success in Birmingham
Coutinho further failed to make Emery’s bench as Aston Villa beat Hibernian in their Europa Conference League qualifier first-leg. But he suffered a hamstring injury against Everton that played into his absence. Emery may have rotated his line-up at Easter Road this Wednesday.
If the injury keeps Coutinho out for longer, the winger may have already played his last game for Aston Villa. His move to Villa Park has not been a huge success, though. Since Aston Villa paid FC Barcelona £17m in May 2022, Coutinho has only offered one goal across 24 games.
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