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Gerrard thought he'd made a "brilliant signing", now Villa must permanently ditch him - opinion

Aston Villa had a famous victory taken away from them in the dying embers of their 0-0 draw with Juventus at Villa Park in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Morgan Rogers had his goal chalked off after Diego Carlos was adjudged to have fouled the goalkeeper when challenging for an aerial ball, which meant that the game finished goalless.

It would have been the English star's fourth goal of the campaign and his first in the Champions League, in what has been an impressive season for the attacking midfielder.

The England international has stepped up, with three goals and three assists, to be a star for the Villans, after one of the recent signings in his position flopped...

Steven Gerrard's star signing at Villa

After Philippe Coutinho managed five goals and three assists in 19 Premier League games on loan at Villa in the second half of the 2021/22 campaign, the club opted to sign him permanently.

The Villans reportedly paid a fee of £17m to sign the former Liverpool star from Barcelona and manager Steven Gerrard claimed that it was a "brilliant signing".

Philippe Coutinho for Aston Villa

After his eight goal contributions in 19 league matches for Villa on loan, and his 54 goals and 43 assists in 201 games for Liverpool, a permanent deal for £17m did appear to be a good move for all parties on paper.

First Impressions FFC

First Impressions

What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast's 'First Impressions' series has everything you need.

Unfortunately, however, it has not worked out that way and current Villans head coach Unai Emery must brutally bin him from the club at the next available opportunity.

Why Aston Villa should sell Philippe Coutinho

In his first full season with the club after joining from Barcelona for £17m, the Brazilian whiz scored one goal and failed to provide a single assist in 20 appearances in the Premier League.

He ended the 2022/23 campaign with zero assists, zero 'big chances' created, and 0.4 key passes per game across 20 games and seven starts in the division, which illustrates how little the experienced midfielder offered the team in the final third.

coutinho-aston-villa-transfer-kellyman-premier-league-emery

Coutinho was then sent out on loan to Al-Duhail in Qatar for the 2023/24 season and ended the campaign with a return of eight goals and four assists in 23 outings.

That was not enough to convince Emery that he could come back to the club to make an impact in the Premier League, however, and the 32-year-old flop joined Vasco da Gama on loan until the end of the current term.

2024 Serie A Philippe Coutinho

Appearances 12

xG 1.76

Goals 1

Big chances created 0

Assists 0

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Coutinho has struggled badly in his home country, with a lack of impact as either a scorer or a creator of goals this year.

His contract at Villa Park does not expire until the summer of 2026 and Emery must cash in on the flop, who is reportedly on £135k-per-week in wages, in one of the next two transfer windows to end the nightmare the club have had with the permanent signing of the Brazilian, which was initially hailed as "brilliant" by Gerrard.

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