Sports Evolve
David James, the former Villa goalkeeper, has revealed one problem he thinks Aston Villa have with Coutinho.
The Brazilian has shown improved performance since joining Villa on loan from Barcelona in January.
Following his signing from Liverpool in 2018, Coutinho failed to prove his worth at Camp Nou. His move to Villa on loan could revive his form.
In four Premier League appearances for Villa, he has netted two goals and assisted twice. He seems to be enjoying football at the moment.
David James is, however, concerned about a problem he thinks Coutinho has.
“I was looking at Coutinho versus Leeds United and there were moments in that game which were absolutely incredible,” he told GGRecon. “The set-up for Jacob Ramsey’s first goal was one of the best passes of the Premier League this season. It was just beautiful, effortless.
“It’s one of those paradoxes – how can this player play so well, and be on loan to Aston Villa. It’s kind of like, if he’s that good, he shouldn’t be there. I say that respectfully.
“The downside is that his fitness looks absolutely shot. He makes a couple of runs and then he looks tanked. The difficulty for Stevie G and Villa is that if they can sort his fitness out and get that level of play from a fitter player, then Coutinho’s price and desirability goes up.
“At the moment, you’re looking at Coutinho thinking, is he a 60-minute player or a 70-minute player. He’s not a 90-minute player. And Aston Villa at the moment require a 90-minute player.
“I think if Stevie can keep him playing well, that’s one thing, and if he can keep him happy to be playing for Aston Villa and he expresses a desire to stay with Stevie at Aston Villa then in the end, that would be – I would argue – more important.
“He obviously enjoyed his time in England with Liverpool and where Stevie’s going with Aston Villa he could try to be part of a success story at the club.
“At first I wasn’t sure about Coutinho at Villa – all the headlines were about Stevie recruiting an old teammate – but he looks happy.”
