Philippe Coutinho may be facing Aston Villa axe amid ‘shock’ development – pundit
Philippe Coutinho may be axed from the Aston Villa starting XI, according to Gabby Agbonlahor.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Aston Villa’s record Premier League goalscorer also admitted he was “shocked” Ollie Watkins was left out of the starting XI for the 2-0 loss to Bournemouth on the opening day.
Danny Ings started up front alongside Coutinho and Leon Bailey but was replaced by Watkins after 66 minutes.
Coutinho himself was replaced by Emiliano Buendia with just less than 10 minutes to go as Villa chased the game.
“Steven Gerrard needs to figure out his best team,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“Is it Coutinho or is it Buendia? Is it Watkins or is it Ings? He needs to try and find his best team and give them a run of games.
“I was very shocked not to see Watkins [against Bournemouth].
“With everything Villa do, Watkins gives that threat in behind, he can run the channels.
“I love Danny Ings, he’s a goalscorer and a great player but I feel you’ve got to fit Watkins in there. It was the biggest shock not seeing him in there, to be honest.
“I trust Steven Gerrard as the manager of my team, he will know the right decisions to make and as a manager, there are tough decisions.
“I’m sure he’ll have watched the game back and looking at whether Coutinho starts or does he give Coutinho the game against Everton and saying ‘You’ve got to put in a performance’.
“He should be the man who takes the game by the scruff of the neck and makes something happen.
“The wages he’s probably earning, the career he’s had, the type of player he is, you can’t go missing in any game.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire has claimed Aston Villa may have just agreed a new deal with a lifelong fan.