Steven Gerrard confident Philippe Coutinho will rediscover Aston Villa sparkle
Villa boss Steven Gerrard has backed Philippe Coutinho to rediscover his sparkle after the playmaker’s struggles continued in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Leicester.
Coutinho scored four goals in his first eight appearances following a January loan switch from Barcelona but has not failed to score for five matches with Villa faltering in attack as a result.
The club are considering whether to push ahead with their option to sign the 29-year-old on a permanent basis in the summer, a deal which would likely require him to become the highest paid player in their history.
In the short-term, Gerrard is confident it will only be a matter of time before his former Liverpool team-mate rekindles his creative touch.
He said: “Phil will be fine. We can’t expect him to be man-of-the-match, creative and goalscoring every time he plays.
”We will continue to work with him and prepare him and I am sure it will only be a matter of time. I don’t have to defend Philippe Coutinho. He defends himself with the level he is at. He has shown in his time here is more than capable.”
Saturday’s draw halted a run of four straight defeats but Villa have scored only once in their last four matches.
Gerrard said: “We are playing against two teams coming up now in Norwich and Burnley who, with all due respect, we should be able to go and create chances and we should have some right good territorial opportunities.
“The likes of Phil, Emi Buendia and Leon Bailey, Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings. We have enough in the building to go and get positive results.”
