Aston Villa are preparing to bid farewell to Philippe Coutinho ahead of the 2024/25 season.
It’s been a rapid start to the summer transfer window for Aston Villa, who have seen arrivals and departures happen early on.
Three players have said farewell to the club so far as Monchi and Unai Emery got to work on limiting Villa’s risk of breaching PSR.
Douglas Luiz, Omari Kellyman and Tim Iroegbunam were the first trio to exit, with another player expected to follow in the coming days.
Vasco da Gama will pay Philippe Coutinho’s full wages ahead of loan spell from Aston Villa
After spending the 2023/24 campaign on loan in Qatar with Al-Duhail, it was always expected that Philippe Coutinho’s time at Villa may be up.
Leading up to the transfer window, the Brazilian’s next destination looks to be far from Villa Park once more, with a homecoming at Vasco da Gama now expected.
While Villa were eager to part ways with Coutinho permanently, a loan is the route that the former Liverpool sensation will take, with one major detail now ironed out ahead of his move.
According to ESPN Brazil, the loan deal is moments away from completion, as it has been confirmed that Vasco da Gama will pay the full amount of the 32-year-old’s wages.
At Villa, the attacking midfielder picks up a staggering £125k-a-week, which ESPN admitted would make him ‘one of the highest paid’ players at Vasco.
Now that the issue around finances has been solved, the report adds that if ‘everything goes as expected’, it is possible that Coutinho will be unveiled as soon as Tuesday [9th July].
Villa had to shift Coutinho from the wage bill
Despite the club’s PSR concerns being eased by sufficient sales, lowering the wage bill remains necessary, with Coutinho being one of the highest earners at Villa.
While parting ways with the Brazilian isn’t happening on a permanent basis, there will be some relief that the 32-year-old will depart without leaving a financial strain on those in B6.
At the end of the 2024/25 season, Coutinho will have just one year remaining on his contract at Villa Park, with more speculation on his future poised to come around next summer.
Only time will tell where the former Barcelona talent will venture to after his upcoming loan with Vasco, where he will return to his boyhood club.
