Aston Villa have confirmed that Philippe Coutinho has joined Al Duhail on a season-long loan deal.
The 31-year-old joined us on loan from Barcelona in January 2022, and following an impressive initial impact, his move was made permanent last summer as he was handed a contract until 2026.
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However, a combination of injuries and poor form limited his influence thereafter, with Coutinho making just 43 appearances in total in a year-and-a-half at the club, while only contributing six goals and three assists in those outings.
In turn, Villa have now confirmed that the Brazilian international has left to join Al Duhail on a season-long loan, and while the club’s statement doesn’t provide any further details on the agreement, it has been reported by Fabrizio Romano that the Qatari club will be covering his wages during the move.
That in turn is a significant factor as it offloads a high earner off the wage bill for a year at least, making up for the likely disappointment of not receiving a transfer fee for him in a permanent switch now.
While there was always the hope that it would ultimately work out for Coutinho and that he would thrive under Unai Emery, reliability and consistency have been real problems for him throughout the Spaniard’s time in charge.
Given that the Villa boss has approved of an exit even now when he is unable to replace and fill that void due to the transfer window being closed, arguably speaks volumes in terms of how he feels we can cope without Coutinho being around the squad.
Time will tell if that gives us additional flexibility to make a move in January to strengthen the group, but the likelihood is also that we’ve seen the Brazilian playmaker feature in his last game as a Villa player, as it doesn’t seem as though he has a long-term future with us either given this decision has now been made.
