Philippe Coutinho Dismisses Own Transfer Rumours
Over the Christmas period there had been several mischievous transfer rumours linking Philippe Coutinho to a move back to Brazil, namely to the Corinthians. It seemed a load of nonsense, considering Coutinho had been injured and the new Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, hadn’t even had chance to look at the player. In addition, there was the small question of whether Corinthians could afford an acceptable fee for Coutinho that would satisfy Villa.
It would be foolish to consider the links any further. However, with the media centred around football not being the smartest, Coutinho acted swiftly and took the rare step of addressing the rumours in a personal statement on his Instagram account, before MOMS even had the chance to file it in Media Muppets.
Coutinho Instagram Statement
Coutinho’s statement read:
In the last few days I’ve seen a lot of news with my name but so far, okay, the problem is now that some lies have started and I’m here to clarify.
NEVER and at any moment had any kind of conversation of mine asking to leave the club, because I’m happy here and my family too.
My only focus now that I’m recovered from the injury is to work at the maximum every day, to play in a high level and help the club and my team mates to achieve our goals.
The statement was met with notable support in the comments sections from his Villa teammates, most notably his fellow Brazilian Douglas Luiz, who wrote, ‘the little Couto will stay at the Villa’.
Luiz, himself, signing a new contract at the club, has certainly helped matters for Coutinho, in terms of being settled at the club.
Coutinho Doubts
It’s easy to understand why some may consider there to be a dark cloud forming over Coutinho’s future at Villa. After failing to contribute to any goals this season, Coutinho missed out on the World Cup in Qatar with Brazil and many felt that his interest in Villa would lessen with the sacking of Steven Gerrard.
Also, there’s the small matter of Emi Buendia having taken his place off him in Villa’s starting line-up, after Villa’s record signing was seen to largely play second-fiddle to Coutinho under Gerrard.
At 30-years-old, this will be Coutinho’s last stab at the Premier League, but he’s with a club that still has ambitions to make a dent in the top half. Emery coming to the club is certainly a sign that the owners are double downing on that ambition.
The second half of the 2022/23 season will be seen as an audition for many future permutations at the club. For example, you’d think Villa will have to show evidence of forward momentum to convince World Cup winner Emi Martinez, that his ambitions can be met at the club. Likewise, the club will surely use it to assess Coutinho’s potential contribution to where they want to be.
The Brazilian obviously has talent and with the game increasingly played with a team’s match day squad, as opposed to its first XI, Emery may yet deem Coutinho a very useful player for his plans at least in the short-term.
UTV
