Unai Emery got his Aston Villa career off to the perfect start with a 3-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday, but he now has a problem involving Philippe Coutinho.
The £17m man has missed out on a place in Brazil’s World Cup squad due to a thigh injury, with the situation made all the more painful as Tite revealed he would have liked to include the South American.
Now, Fabio Mahseredjian – fitness coach for Brazil – has opened up on how Coutinho is feeling after the sad news.
Coutinho “very sad” at Aston Villa
Unfortunately, Emery has to find a way to console Coutinho, who is said to be “shaken” after missing out on the World Cup squad.
As quoted by Globo Esporte, Mahseredjian said: “I spoke to him yesterday, he was very, very shaken, very sad.”
Coutinho boasts a fantastic record for Brazil, scoring 21 goals in 69 appearances for his country, so he had a good chance of making an impact in Qatar had he avoided injury.
The timing has been exceptionally cruel for the 30-year-old, who faced Newcastle in that 4-0 defeat before the 3-1 win over Manchester United.
Of course, Coutinho has not been as his best since joining the Villans from Barcelona on a permanent basis back in May.
The Aston Villa No.23 has failed to score or assist a goal in 12 Premier League appearances so far this season, but as aforesaid, he has proven himself more than capable on the international scene.
Emery can help Coutinho shine for Aston Villa
In our view, Emery has the man management skills to help Coutinho overcome this setback.
The 51-year-old will now be spending a lot of time with the Brazilian at Bodymoor Heath during the World Cup, which gives him an opportunity to scratch beneath the surface and discover why Coutinho has been struggling.
Emery helped Premier League rejects such as Francis Coquelin, Giovani Lo Celso, Juan Foyth and Etienne Capoue become key players in a Villarreal side who reached the Champions League semi-final last season.
Therefore, the Spaniard is definitely capable of helping Coutinho turn things around.
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