Journalist Dean Jones has claimed that Philippe Coutinho could be a huge asset in terms of bringing in new strikers in the summer for Villa.
Aston Villa forward Danny Ings has somewhat struggled to live up to his name this season after signing at Villa Park from Southampton. In the Premier League, he has just five goals in 23 appearances. Whilst Ollie Watkins is the club’s top scorer with eight goals in 27 league games.
Philippe Coutinho was brought into the club on loan by former teammate Steven Gerrard from Barcelona in January, with an option to buy a deal at the end of the campaign for £33 million. The Brazilian has seven-goal contributions in 11 Premier League games so far.
With the likelihood that Coutinho will sign a permanent deal in the summer, Dean Jones highlighted to GIVEMESPORT that Gerrard can use the Brazilian to lure top-class strikers to the club.
“If they’re told that Coutinho is going to be teeing them up with chances, that’s going to be a massive selling point,” Jones said.
TIF Thoughts on Dean Jones’ comments…
Although Philippe Coutinho has a clause in his loan deal with Villa that the club can buy him for £33 million at the end of the season, other sides that may play in European competitions may show interest in him, after his impressive performances this term so far.
Coutinho has an average player rating of 7.17 over his last five Premier League games, he averages 2.5 shots per game and has an average pass completion rate of 84% in the league, as per Sofascore. So, it will be a huge boost for Gerrard if he can acquire him on a permanent deal in the summer.
If the Brazilian does join Villa permanently, then that could open the door to a new haul of players, because of the creativity that he has, it will supply the new forwards with plenty of goal-scoring opportunities.