Aston Villa have signed former Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho on a permanent deal from Barcelona. The Brazilian, 29, moved to Villa Park on loan in January in a deal which included an option to buy at the end of the season. He has now signed on a contract running until 2026 for twenty-million euros and is understood to have taken a considerable wage cut from his deal in Spain.
Coutinho has scored four goals and provided three assists at Villa, although none of those have come in his past eight games. He joined Barcelona in a one hundred and forty-two million euros move from Liverpool in January 2018 and had 12 months to run on his contract. Coutinho scored 54 goals in 201 appearances for Liverpool, who he joined from Inter Milan in January 2013. He scored 26 goals in 106 appearances for Barcelona.