Aston Villa could now sell £17m player this summer

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Aston Villa could sell Philippe Coutinho amid interest from Saudi Arabia and is one of the favourites to leave the club.

That’s according to journalist Alex Crook, speaking to Give Me Sport about the Brazilian.

It was far from an ideal start to the Premier League campaign for Aston Villa and Unai Emery.

After a promising pre-season in the United States and some fantastic transfer business, they were brought back down to earth at St. James’ Park.

A 5-1 defeat to Newcastle means Villa currently sit bottom of the Premier League.

The more concerning part of the match will be losing Tyrone Mings to a serious knee injury that is likely to rule him out for much of the season.

Villa also lost Emi Buendia to a similar injury in the build-up to the game which is a huge blow.

Emery needs to get his squad sorted in the next couple of weeks with a Conference League campaign to deal with as well.

Villa could sell Philippe Coutinho to get his wages off the books which may allow a new signing to come in.

Nicolo Zaniolo is a name being suggested right now, although Buendia’s injury may end up affecting Coutinho’s immediate future.

Villa could sell Coutinho this summer

Speaking about the 31-year-old, Crook said: “There are bigger names higher up the list [to leave Villa instead of Leon Bailey]. Coutinho is still there at the moment, but he is wanted in Saudi Arabia, so I think he’s probably the favourite to go.

“They could get him off the wage bill and maybe he will link up with [Steven] Gerrard over in the Middle East.

“It’s not worked out for Bailey. He hasn’t managed to stay fit and when he has, his numbers aren’t great. I don’t see him as a first-team regular, but I guess the question is where is he going to go? Who is going to pay Villa back some of what they signed him for?”

The £17m attacking midfielder was brought off the bench against Newcastle on Saturday, however, the score was already 4-1 and there were just a few minutes left to play.

The scoreline still managed to get worse with Harvey Barnes finding the back of the net on his debut.

Unai Emery’s bench looked slightly thin, with youngster Jaden Philogene who impressed during pre-season and Omari Kellyman in the squad.

Villa may not sell Coutinho if they’re worried about their depth, especially with more games to play this season.

However, if Emery doesn’t see the Brazilian featuring regularly, then getting his wages off the books and bringing in a new player might be the best solution.

His time at Villa Park hasn’t worked out since his loan move was made permanent by Steven Gerrard.