'A luxury' - Our verdict on whether Aston Villa should sign Philippe Coutinho for £33m

Steven Gerrard was put on the spot after Villa's 0-0 draw at Leicester on Saturday, with reporters asking the boss what he must do to help rediscover Philippe Coutinho's form. The Brazilian is without a goal or an assist in his last five outings and has been a shadow of his former self amid Villa's winless run since beating Leeds 3-0 on March 10.

Villa, as we know, have a £33million buy option in place with Barcelona should they wish to trigger it while, currently, Villa are paying £125,000 of Coutinho's £480,000-a-week Barca salary.

Here, our Claret & Blue: an Aston Villa Podcast panel of Ashley Preece, John Townley and Patrick Rowe get together to discuss THAT potential Coutinho transfer. We asked the simple question: should Aston Villa sign Coutinho for £33million? Here's what went down. Have your say in the comments section HERE.

When Jack Grealish left Aston Villa in the summer, I didn't expect to be watching a player of that quality again anytime soon, but Philippe Coutinho proved me wrong during his first few months in claret and blue. Though, all of a sudden, as a result of the club's poor form since beating Leeds 3-0 last month, the Brazilian has gone off the boil by his own very high standards.

After making an outstanding contribution to the win at Elland Road, Steven Gerrard waxed lyrical about the 'magician' and urged Villa's board to sanction a deal to secure his permanent stay at the club. Yet, here we are just six or so weeks later and the percentage of supporters who'd like the club to bend over backwards to keep him has no doubt reduced.

Don't get me wrong, a stellar showing against Norwich City this weekend would swing that balance again, but this is a player who will turn 30 in June, command the