Agbonlahor suggests Philippe Coutinho has played his last Aston Villa match after January reveal
Philippe Coutinho may have played his final game for Aston Villa before joining a Brazilian or MLS club in January, according to Gabby Agbonlahor.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Aston Villa’s record Premier League goalscorer suggested Coutinho does not fit into Unai Emery’s system.
The 30-year-old has not featured under Emery and is currently out with a hamstring injury.
Football Insider revealed on Saturday (24 December) that the Brazilian’s agent, Kia Joorabchian, has been tasked with finding him a new club.
It has been reported by Spanish outlet Sport that Corinthians could be an option for Coutinho.
Asked whether January could be the end of the midfielder’s Villa career, Agbonlahor told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley: “I think so, yes.
“I don’t think he’s going to have the motivation. He missed out on the World Cup and that will have hurt him.
“The manager who brought him in, Steven Gerrard, has gone.
“It’s just not the same Coutinho who was at Liverpool. He didn’t do it at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
“When Aston Villa signed him you thought ‘Can he get back to that level?’ but he’s just not the same player. Sometimes you are just not the same player, you don’t have the legs and can’t get around the pitch as much.
“I just don’t see him playing in that side. If you look at Emery’s tactics in the last game against Brighton, it was four centre-midfielders across the midfielder with Buendia playing behind Ings.
“I just don’t see Coutinho getting game time. It wouldn’t surprise me if he goes to America or Brazil and plays the last bit of his career there.”
In other news, Aston Villa have made a move to sign a forward Emery knows very well.