Two approaches made for Villa ace with club open to exit

Aston Villa have reportedly received two approaches for Philippe Coutinho, with both Real Betis and Besiktas keen on the Brazilian playmaker.

The 31-year-old has struggled after initially impressing following his move from Barcelona in January 2022, as he has contributed six goals and three assists in 43 appearances for Villa.

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Currently sidelined again by injury, availability has been a real issue for the Brazilian international as he has suffered with multiple setbacks and his form has been impacted as a result.

With Emiliano Buendia sidelined for most, if not all, of this season though with an injury blow of his own, Villa boss Unai Emery may feel as though he must keep Coutinho and show faith in his ability to contribute on his return, but speculation refuses to go away over his future.

As per Fabrizio Romano, both Real Betis and Besiktas have approached Villa on the eve of the transfer deadline with a view of signing Coutinho, and he adds that Villa are open to approving an exit, provided our conditions are met.

Further, it’s suggested that it’s up Coutinho himself to decide if he is keen on either proposal, while there have been reports of interest from Qatar in recent days too.

Ideally, if he is to leave, it will happen relatively quickly now in order to give Villa an opportunity to bring in a replacement, as it’s more than likely that we have one lined up already and will make our move if a void is created in the current squad by Coutinho’s departure.

Given we want to compete on multiple fronts this season and need the necessary competition and quality depth to do so, there’s seemingly very little chance we allow Coutinho to leave and opt not to replace him, and so it could be a busy end to the transfer window for Emery and the Villa management.

While it would be disappointing to see Coutinho go as there is still hope that he could come good under Emery, we need reliable and consistent options at the Spaniard’s disposal to challenge for silverware this season, and he has simply not provided enough evidence of being capable of doing that.

In turn, an exit, if on the right terms, is the favourable outcome at this stage, as that could ultimately be key to giving us additional financial flexibility and space in the squad to go after one of our top targets.