Forgotten Aston Villa star edging closer to the exit door

The Brazilian playmaker still has a year left to run on his contract but talks have taken place over an early termination which would allow him to sign with boyhood club Vasco de Gama.

Coutinho, who has not played for Villa since August 2023, has been on loan with Vasco for the past year but the agreement is due to expire at the end of the month.

Villa have long accepted they will not be able to recoup any fee for the 33-year-old, who joined from Barcelona for £17million three summers ago.

The focus is now on securing a deal which will move his salary completely off the books.

Speaking over the weekend, Vasco head coach Fernando Diniz expressed confidence an agreement will be reached.

“I believe that things will work out and he will stay here with us. It’s his wish, Vasco’s, the fans’ and mine too,” he said.

Coutinho, once the second most expensive player in football history when he joined Barcelona from Liverpool for £142m, became one of Villa’s most high-profile signings when he arrived, initially on loan, in January 2022.

But he struggled for form and was hampered by injury after the deal was made permanent five months later, making only seven Premier League starts and scoring only once.

After spending the bulk of the 2023-24 season on loan with Al Duhail in Qatar, he moved back to his homeland with Vasco.