Aston Villa’s Philippe Coutinho set to complete loan move to Qatari side Al Duhail | OneFootball

As per Fabrizio Romano, Philippe Coutinho is set to complete a loan move from Aston Villa to Al-Duhail.

An agreement between the two sides is currently being sealed, with the Qatari club set to cover the player’s full salary in a year-long loan deal.

Meanwhile, The 31-year-old is said to have accepted the move 10 days ago, having rejected offers from Beşiktaş and Real Betis in favour of a move to the Middle Eastern club- where he will play under the management of legendary Argentine striker Hernán Crespo.

The Brazilian international became the third most expensive signing in football history in January 2018 in his move to Barcelona from Liverpool for €135m. However, he struggled to justify this price tag throughout what was a disappointing four years at the Spanish giants, and subsequently moved to Steven Gerrard’s Villa on loan in January 2022. During his six month spell at Villa park, Coutinho rediscovered his form and displayed his undoubted talent in his 16 Premier League games, scoring five and assisting three- prompting the Midlands side to make the move permanent for €20m that summer.

Despite this, the attacking midfielder struggled with injuries and failed to make an impact under Unai Emery last season, starting seven out of his 20 league appearances and scoring just once, resulting in Villa now sanctioning his departure.

With the European transfer window having closed last Friday, this deal is likely to be Villa’s last this summer, as they end what has been a succesful transfer window.

The Villans have brought in Nicoló Zaniolo and Clément Lenglet on loan, Youri Tielemans on a free transfer from Leicester, whilst Moussa Diaby and Pau Torres have both arrived for significant fees; as Emery’s side look to build upon their seventh place finish last season and achieve victory in the Europa Conference League.

Travis Levison | Get Football