Pundit ‘wowed’ by ‘shock’ Aston Villa statement after Coutinho deal agreed
Aston Villa have sent their Premier League rivals a statement of intent following their capture of Philippe Coutinho.
That’s according to former Leeds United stopper Paddy Kenny, speaking exclusively to Football Insider following the confirmation of the “massive” transfer.
On Friday, Aston Villa confirmed the signing of Coutinho from Barcelona on loan until the end of the season.
Villa have also confirmed the deal includes the option to buy the Brazilian.
Kenny has hailed Steven Gerrard for pulling off the move and predicted Coutinho can fire Villa up the table.
After being told Aston Villa had confirmed the deal, Kenny told Football Insider correspondent Ben Wild, “Really? You are joking, what a deal that is.
“Wow, that’s just amazing from Villa. People said Gerrard would get quality players in and what a start that is.
“What a statement. How much did Barcelona pay for him a few years ago? It was something like £140million.
“I know it’s only a loan but this is a seriously talented player we are talking about.
“That is massive for Villa, I’m in a little bit of shock here. Coutinho playing for Villa, that’s mad.
“It’s brilliant for them and it shows how ambitious they want to be, it’s a proper statement of intent.
“Hopefully he hits the ground running and can get Villa higher up that table and towards Europe.”
Coutinho was regarded as one of the finest players in the world during his days at Liverpool.
But he has struggled to live up to his transfer fee at Barcelona, and has accumulated just 608 minutes from 16 appearances in all competitions this season.
In other news, an ex-Premier League referee has revealed an Aston Villa star should face retrospective punishment after ‘outrageous cheating’.