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Aston Villa could offload former Liverpool and Barcelona star to Qatar

By Evan Curnew

VALENCIA, SPAIN - AUGUST 05: Philippe Coutinho of Aston Villa looks on during the Trofeu Taronja match between Valencia CF and Aston Villa at Estadio Mestalla on August 05, 2023 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
VALENCIA, SPAIN - AUGUST 05: Philippe Coutinho of Aston Villa looks on during the Trofeu Taronja match between Valencia CF and Aston Villa at Estadio Mestalla on August 05, 2023 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images) /
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Aston Villa have had a busy summer in hopes of making their way to the Europa Conference League group stage. They are already halfway there, having smashed Hibernian five-nil in the first playoff leg in Edinburgh. Villa has added some top talent this summer, including the likes of Youri Tielemans, Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby. The club recently loaned Nicolo Zaniolo from Galatasaray after Emi Buendia suffered a long-term injury. Now, with Unai Emery liking having the squad he wants, there are bound to be some departures of outcast players.

Aston Villa could sell Philippe Coutinho to Qatar

Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Qatari side Al Duhail has made contact with Aston Villa over a potential transfer of Philippe Coutinho. Romano states that personal terms between Coutinho and Al Duhail are advancing, and it is now in the hands of Aston Villa to make a decision on the player’s future.

With multiple additions in the forward lines, Coutinho is unlikely to be a big contributor with Aston Villa this season. Perhaps with European group stage matches looming, he could earn the odd start, but his role has been severely reduced since his arrival in 2022. The Brazilian spent the back half of last season injured after scoring just one goal in 20 Premier League matches. He is now injured again, having picked up an injury in Villa’s match against Everton. Unai Emery has confirmed that he may miss a little while, but it seems as though the injury will not hamper a potential departure from the club.

Once a star player for Liverpool years ago, Coutinho could not stay healthy enough after his massive move to Barcelona in 2018. He was able to win the Champions League, though, when he spent the 19-20 season on loan at Bayern Munich. Coutinho could now be set to join the reigning Qatar Stars League champions, Al-Duhail SC.

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