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Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard has said that he's keen to sign Barcelona loanee Philippe Coutinho this summer.
The Brazilian joined the Premier League club on loan till the end of the season in January. He enjoyed an incredible start to his loan spell, scoring four goals and providing three assists in his first eight league appearances.
The 29-year-old's form, though, has dropped in recent weeks. He has not registered a goal contribution in his last seven appearances. Coutinho was replaced by Emiliano Buendia in Villa's starting lineup for their game against Burnley this weekend.
Buendia repaid his manager's faith, as he provided an assist and scored a goal in his side's 3-1 victory at Turf Moore.
Coutinho's dip in form combined with Buendia's impressive performance has led many to question if Villa need to sign the Brazilian. Gerrard, though, reiterated his desire to sign Coutinho and that the midfielder is not unhappy about being dropped to the bench.
"We want Phil Coutinho here [next season], for sure. No, Phil was [not disappointed] to miss out. There's not much ego in this group. They're a right good set of lads. The schedule, we've been playing one game a week/two weeks which isn't enough. We want to be in a place where the game come thick and fast," said Gerrard as per the Birmingham Mail.
Gerrard continued:
"We've just entered the period where it's going to change with five games in a short space of time. Phil and Emi will both get enough game time to keep them satisfied. They know that you can't go Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday all of the time. Phil understood it.'
Villa have the option to buy Coutinho for £33 million after the end of his loan spell. The Brazilian will have to take a major pay cut if he's to move to Villa Park, as he's currently earning €20 million per year at Barcelona.
Barcelona to sell Aston Villa loanee Philippe Coutinho this summer?
Barcelona are currently on the rise under Xavi Hernandez. They were languishing in ninth place in the La Liga table when the Spaniard arrived late last year. They are now in second place, five points ahead of third-placed Sevilla.
The Blaugrana will be keen to make some astute signings in the summer to mount a serious challenge for titles next season. However, they'll need to part ways with fringe players to raise the funds required to make new signings, as they are facing debts totalling up to €1 billion.
According to ESPN, the club have identified Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski as one of their top transfer targets.
The German giants are seeking a fee in the region of £50 million for the 33-year-old. Barcelona will, therefore, be desperate to sell Aston Villa loanee Coutinho to raise the capital to sign Lewandowski.
