Vasco da Gama’s CEO Carlos Amodeo has reiterated the Brazilian side’s desire to extend Aston Villa loanee Philippe Coutinho’s stay at the club.
The 32-year-old dropped down the pecking order at Villa under Unai Emery and is now likely considered to be surplus to requirements, but only a temporary solution has been found thus far.
READ MORE: Talks touted as Villa paired with trying to sign classy ace permanently
Coutinho joined Vasco on loan last summer, with his current deal with the Brazilian outfit set to expire at the end of June.
At that point, another decision will be needed on his future with a year remaining on his contract at Villa, and ideally, the club will surely want to get him off the books on a permanent basis.
While these are promising comments from Amodeo in that Vasco do wish to keep Coutinho with them, it’s unclear whether or not that comes in the form of yet another loan spell until his deal with Villa runs down, or if we can agree on a contract termination and allow him to move on outright.
“The goal is for the player to stay,” Amodeo said, as per Bola VIP. “There is no problem between him and Vasco. The point is to resolve the situation with Aston Villa so we can move forward.
“Coutinho is a player we want to count on for the rest of the season. We are in contact with his representatives awaiting his release from the English club.”
A loan extension for another year with Vasco covering part of Coutinho’s wages at least could still work for us as we weigh up our options when it comes to remaining compliant with PSR and UEFA’s financial rules.
As noted above, a contract termination would bring an end to a relationship that has no future, but would Coutinho be willing to forfeit what’s owed to him by Villa without agreeing a payoff, or will Vasco be prepared to cover his wages entirely to ensure he doesn’t lose out?
Those are critical factors in that proposal as paying the Brazilian playmaker off to move on would mean our books take a hit that we perhaps can’t afford at this stage, particularly at a time where Villa are believed to be looking to raise money through player sales to ensure we’re not in breach of PSR by June 30.
As per The Athletic, Villa will try again to cancel Coutinho’s contract, but time will tell if that process will be as straight-forward as that, and whether not it works for us financially as part of the bigger picture. It’s hoped that all parties concerned see sense and ultimately do what’s best in the interests of all and reach the outcome that suits everyone as this is an ongoing headache that Villa would surely like to get rid of and not have to continue dealing with for another year.
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