Aston Villa and FC Barcelona have agreed terms for Philippe Coutinho to spend the rest of this season on loan at Villa Park,” Villa said in a brief statement.

“The agreement, which is subject to the player completing a medical and receiving a work permit, also includes an option to buy and Philippe will travel to Birmingham in the next 48 hours.”

Coutinho, 29, joined Barcelona from Liverpool in 2018 but has struggled for form at the Nou Camp and spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Bayern Munich.

He will link up with Villa boss Steven Gerrard, with whom he played at Liverpool.

AFP