The 33-year-old initially joined us on loan from Barcelona in January 2022, and his form in the second half of that campaign earned him a permanent switch the following summer.
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However, injuries, loss of form and the arrival of Unai Emery to replace his predecessor Steven Gerrard all contributed to Coutinho falling down the pecking order, and he was eventually shipped out on loan to Al Duhail in 2023.
A permanent switch to the Qatari side failed to materialise and so an alternative solution was found last summer as he rejoined Vasco da Gama on a season-long loan deal.
With that agreement running down this month though, question marks were once again raised over what would happen with the Brazilian playmaker, especially given the fact that he still had a year to run on his Villa contract, and we were said to be contributing to his salary while out on loan.
Fortunately, it sounds as though a solution has been found, as [Brazilian journalist Gabriel Andrezo reports on Tupi](https://www.tupi.fm/sentinelas/coutinho-acerta-rescisao-e-fica-livre-para-assinar-com-o-vasco/) that an ‘amicable’ agreement has been found to terminate Coutinho’s contract, and so he will now be free to negotiate with Vasco over a permanent deal.
It’s unclear at this stage what the terms of the termination are, as Villa may well have been forced into a payoff to offload Coutinho and get his wages off our books, but given he has no future with us and was ultimately proving to be a financial burden, it’s hoped that we’ve managed to reach a conclusion that suits us and doesn’t have too much of a negative impact on our finances.
What it will also hopefully do now is open up space in the squad for us to strengthen our options in that department with a transfer target that suits Emery’s way of playing, as we’ll hopefully have more financial flexibility when it comes to managing our wage bill and having money to spend on incomings to improve the group.
Should this prove to be the end for Coutinho at Villa, it is a shame how things have played out as there was so much promise and excitement around his first few months at the club, while his signing was a key point for the club in attracting a player of his stature and subsequently opening the door to targets of a higher level.
Nevertheless, a contract termination makes sense for all concerned now, and it’s hoped that we get official confirmation sooner rather than later on terms of the agreement to understand how beneficial it can prove to be for Villa.
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