(Football news) Philippe Coutinho will reunite with Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa on loan from Barcelona until the end of the season. The agreement between the two clubs is subject to a medical and a work permit, there is also an option to buy and the 29 year old Brazilian is expected to travel to England in the next 48 hours to complete the formalities.

Coutinho spent two and a half years alongside Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard and was keen to return back to England and revive his career after an underwhelming time at Barcelona. He was signed by the Catalans from Liverpool for £146m but struggled to hold a place in the starting XI and was subsequently loaned out to Bayern Munich during the 2019/20 season. Aston Villa are currently 13th in the Premier League table and will hope that Coutinho’s arrival will fill the void left by Jack Grealish who departed to Manchester City in the summer. 

Speaking on Thursday ahead of Coutinho’s arrival, Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard said “Sixty-three caps for Brazil, a serial winner, was incredible at Liverpool, so I can understand why he's linked to a lot of football clubs. I can understand why a lot of supporters up and down the country are speaking about him. I don't think you get a nickname as a magician if you're not a special footballer, so he's someone I have an incredible amount of respect for. But I don't want to add to any speculation, because he belongs to Barcelona."

Having scored 41 goals in 152 appearances for Liverpool followed by 26 goals in 106 appearances for Barcelona, Coutinho will hope to rediscover his best form and seal a permanent move back to England. The Catalans will also be keen to offload the Brazilian midfielder whose contract expires at the end of the 2022-23 season and lighten their wage bill after signing Ferran Torres for €55m plus add-ons which could potentially rise up to €65m depending on the player's achievements.

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