Aston Villa are close to signing Phillippe Coutinho on a permanent deal from Barcelona after his impressive loan spell with the Spanish giants ready to accept a cut-price £12m to get him off their wage bill
Aston Villa are on the verge of clinching a permanent deal for Phillippe Coutinho The ex-Liverpool star has excelled since joining Villa from Barcelona on loan Villa agreed a £33m permanent fee in January but could now sign him for £12mBarcelona are ready to take a financial hit and the deal is expected to get done
Aston Villa are close to sealing the permanent transfer of Phillippe Coutinho.
Sportsmail revealed earlier this week that Villa had made an offer of £12million for the former Liverpool star, significantly lower than the set £33m fee that was agreed when Coutinho signed from Barcelona on loan in January.
And Spanish sources have told Sportsmail that an agreement between Villa and Barcelona is now ‘close’ with the expectancy being that the deal will get done.
Aston Villa are closing in on a permanent £12m deal to sign Phillippe Coutinho from Barcelona
The midfielder featured against his former club Liverpool in Villa’s 2-1 loss on Tuesday night
Barcelona are willing to take a financial hit to move the Brazilian’s sizeable salary off their books.
The Catalans need to remove some of the higher earners in order to have room for manoeuvre in the transfer market this season.
Coutinho has had a quiet end to the season at Villa Park but made a quick first impression when he first joined and has netted four goals since arriving in January, providing three assists.
Barcelona are ready to take a financial hit on the player and get him off their wage bill
COUTINHO AT VILLA
Appearances: 16
Starts: 14
Minutes: 1158
Goals: 4