Philippe Coutinho: Aston Villa Would Be Crazy Not To Do £33m Summer Deal With Barca

Oh Philippe Coutinho, the Premier League has missed you.

Since reuniting with former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa, Coutinho has looked every bit like the player who convinced Barcelona to break their transfer record in January 2018.

After inspiring a dramatic comeback against Manchester United on his Villa debut, the Brazilian put on a first-half masterclass against Leeds United on Wednesday night.

Coutinho scored himself thanks to a brilliant two-touch finish, before setting up a brace of goals for Jacob Ramsey with a pair of perfectly-weighted passes.

It was breathtaking to watch one of soccer's most exciting players full of confidence and performing back at their best.

Gerrard must take a lot of credit for reinvigorating a talent who Barcelona appeared to have given up on.

Another former Liverpool teammate concisely summed up what everyone was thinking. "Coutinho wow," tweeted Jamie Carragher.

The question is, what were Barcelona thinking?

Coutinho is currently on loan at Villa Park, but the deal they agreed with Barca in January included a £33m option to sign him permanently in the summer, according to Sky Sports.

That option looks like an absolute no-brainer for Villa.

Coutinho will be 30 in June, meaning Villa would likely break a Premier League record by exercising their option to sign him. 

Newcastle United made Chris Wood the most expensive 30-plus-year-old signing in Premier League history last month, as reported by The Mirror.

A transfer fee of £25m saw a lot of eyebrows raised, with many believing Newcastle were crazy for spending so much on an aging striker who had only scored three goals all season.

But if Coutinho can stay anywhere near his current level, Villa will be the crazy ones if they do not close this deal.

Gerrard described Coutinho as a "joy to work with" in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday's game, which ended as a 3-3 draw.

The Villa manager, as quoted by BBC Sport, added: "He's still got improvements to do from a physical point of view, but in terms of his technical ability you don't play for Brazil that many times or become a global superstar without that talent.

"He will get better and better."