Aston Villa's Philippe Coutinho edging closer to exit
Philippe Coutinho looks to be nearing an exit from Villa amid reports he is set to join Qatari side Al-Duhail.
The 31-year-old has struggled to live up to his billing at Villa Park having initially joined on loan under Steven Gerrard. That move was made permanent ahead of the 2022-23 season as the former Liverpool playmaker joined from Barcelona in a £17million deal – having moved from Anfield to the Catalan giants in 2018 for £130m.
He had spent a year on loan at Bayern Munich but had struggled to recreate the form that made him a huge hero at Anfield.
Coutinho played 24 games for Villa since his initial loan move in January last year, contributing five goals.
He was brought on as a substitute in the 4-0 home win over Everton earlier but was substituted himself soon after after going down with a hamstring injury. Unai Emery said his recovery was expected to take weeks rather than months.
