Former $148M Liverpool Star Could Reunite With Steven Gerrard At Aston Villa: Report

FC Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho is reportedly eyeing a return to England in the ongoing January transfer window.

As many as three clubs in England are showing a strong interest in Coutinho -- Liverpool FC, Aston Villa and Everton, reported Goal. However, International Business Times, could not verify it independently.

Liverpool would provide Coutinho with familiar conditions as he spent some of his best years at Anfield during his five-year stay in England. Following his winter move from Inter Milan to Liverpool, Coutinho took little time to settle in at Anfield. He finished his Reds career with 54 goals and 46 assists in 201 competitive matches.

While he tasted much success at Liverpool as an individual player, Coutinho did not win any trophies and that was one of the major reasons behind moving to Barcelona. The Catalans signed the 29-year-old Brazil national for a hefty price of $1147 million but the player still has not fit in completely in the club’s system.

Meanwhile, a move to Aston Villa would see Coutinho reunite with his former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard, who is the current manager of Villa Park.

Barcelona, on the other hand, are looking to offload Coutinho to register their latest signing Ferran Torres and set up other transfers. The 29-year-old central midfielder is the club’s current highest earner as he receives a weekly wage of $513,885, according to salarysport.com.

Xavi Hernandez, Barcelona’s head coach, has been honest with Coutinho and asked the Brazilian midfielder to look for another club in the underway winter window, according to Spanish publication SPORT.

Out of Barcelona’s 19 La Liga games so far in the 2021-22 campaign, Coutinho has featured in 12, starting just five of those fixtures. In order to get selected for the FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled to take place later this year, Coutinho will need to play regular club soccer, which is certainly not happening at present in Barcelona.

The SPORT report has further claimed that Coutinho’s representatives are doing everything possible to find a new club for their client but the Barca midfielder has a condition that is he either wants to return to England or play in Italy.

Coutinho has 25 goals and 16 assists to his name in 106 competitive appearances for Barcelona.