Philippe Coutinho ‘accepts a massive £345,000-a-week pay cut’ to seal £17m permanent move to Aston Villa from Barcelona – as Steven Gerrard eyes ‘major revamp’ of squad this summer ‘with Kalvin Phillips his top target’
Philippe Coutinho has reportedly agreed a massive 70 per cent wage cut in order to complete his £17m move to Aston Villa from Barcelona on Friday.
The Premier League club confirmed they had agreed a permanent deal to sign the Brazilian playmaker having brought him in on loan in January, with the 29-year-old signing a four-year deal.
The report details that Coutinho agreed to the decrease such was his desire to return permanently to English football.
It added that Steven Gerrard is targeting a major revamp of his squad this summer, with Leeds midfielder and England international Kalvin Phillips a leading target.
Gerrard believes the signing of Coutinho will attract more big-name players to Aston Villa this summer.
‘I’ve only experienced one window at Villa but I remember sitting down with Lucas Digne in January and him saying: “What’s happening with Coutinho?”‘ said Gerrard.
‘Players ask questions. They want to know who they are going to be playing with, and they want to play with good players.
‘If we are going to achieve things, players want to know they are going to be doing it with other good players. That’s the way it is.
‘Philippe is still in his prime. When he came here he wasn’t really match fit and it was always going to take time for him to settle but he will be a big player here in the coming years.’
Gerrard also said: ‘To have him here full-time and settled, he’ll go up another level because that feeling of knowing where he’s going to be playing his football for the next four years will help him settle.
‘He’s a player that needs to feel wanted; he needs to feel support.
