Barcelona are about to reach an agreement for the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Aston Villa.

Coutinho moved to Villa in the January transfer window on a six-month loan deal that included an optional purchase clause of €40mn ($42.2mn). However, due to the urgent need to raise money through player sales, though, Barca’s hands have been forced into selling the Brazilian for €15-20 million.

This of course represents a significant loss to the Catalans who want to get his salary off the wage bill.

Villa coach Steven Gerrard insists he still wants to keep Coutinho.

“We want Coutinho here,” Gerrard said in a recent press conference.

The Brazilian has largely impressed on loan at the EPL side, but recently his influence on games has dried up while he has failed to register a single goal contribution in the last eight games.- Soccer24 Zimbabwe