Whelan can’t believe Emiliano Buendia could be axed at Aston Villa as social media details emerge
Noel Whelan has insisted he “can’t see” Philippe Coutinho being restored to the Aston Villa lineup over Emiliano Buendia despite his social media pledge of allegiance to the Midlands giants.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, suggested manager Unai Emery “can’t trust” the 30-year-old to work hard enough off the ball.
Coutinho took to Instagram last week (29 December) to claim he is “very happy” and “focused” on achieving his goals at Aston Villa despite reports linking him with a return to Brazil.
The midfielder, who hasn’t started a Premier League game since 10 October, is yet to score or assist in 15 appearances so far this season.
Football Insider revealed on 24 December that Aston Villa are open to selling Coutinho in January – despite signing him permanently just last summer (2022).
He cost a reported £17million after a successful loan spell last season – during which he contributed five goals and three assists in 19 games.
Whelan told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “Coutinho started at Villa like a bat out of hell.
“He was fantastic – creating, scoring, and just being their best performer. But it only lasted three or four months before fizzling out.
“But if he can rekindle that form, then Aston Villa will be a much better team for it.
“At the minute, he can’t be trusted to put in a good performance. Unai Emery is still not sure whether he can provide what Aston Villa need – especially off the ball, and putting in that hard graft.
“Buendia is doing enough to keep him out right now, and I just can’t see that changing.”
In other news, ex-referee tells Premier League to clamp down on Aston Villa antics after what he saw – “everyone is aware…”