According to Birmingham Live, Aston Villa will not be forced to pay Barcelona £33m if they want to sign Philippe Coutinho permanently.
What’s the story?
Well, there were rumours that the loan agreement which took Coutinho to Villa Park involved an option to buy worth £33m.
However, Birmingham Live now reveal that this sum is not fixed, meaning Aston Villa can negotiate a lower fee with Barcelona.
You may be wondering why that should be considered good news, as Barcelona will obviously try to get more than £33m if Coutinho keeps impressing.
However, the Spanish giants are in a terrible financial situation – they couldn’t even register Ferran Torres as a new signing in January until they made some cuts.
Therefore, Barcelona will be in no position to take Aston Villa for a ride, as a cash injection of around £25m – for example – would be very welcome for Xavi.
Aston Villa must sign Philippe Coutinho
Since making his debut against Manchester United on January 15th, Coutinho has been immense for the Villans.
It’s like he’s never been away from the Premier League.
With two goals and two assists in his first three appearances – the same amount of Premier League goal involvements as Jack Grealish has managed in 17 games – Coutinho has the potential to take the Villans to new heights.
The Brazilian is linking up with Jacob Ramsey superbly, and he makes very difficult things look utterly simple in the final third.
If a deal can be struck for a fee in the region of £20m – £25m, Aston Villa should be all over it. Coutinho can become a cult hero at Villa Park.
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