Alan Hutton says ‘talented’ Coutinho will ‘raise the standard’

Aston Villa confirmed earlier in May that they’d signed Philippe Coutinho on a permanent deal and Alan Hutton believes he’s an ‘incredible’ acquisition. The 29-year-old has scored four goals with three assists in 17 Premier League games for Villa, though he’s suffered a dip in form since March.

Steven Gerrard was determined to sign Coutinho permanently regardless and has landed his man on a four-year deal. It’s quite the coup given the Brazilian international has Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Inter Milan on his CV and Hutton says the ‘talented’ playmaker will raise the standard of his teammates.

He told Football Insider: “It’s an incredible signing, to be quite honest with you. It just shows you the ambition of the club moving forward. He’s obviously a talented player. I know from speaking to the players how highly they respect him on and off the pitch. He definitely raises the standards.

“What’s happened is Villa have had to be patient. It’s 17 appearances, four goals and three assists. That’s after him not playing a lot of football. He’s going to have a little bit of up and down time.”

Coutinho hasn’t scored or made an assist in his last nine league appearances and has to have his minutes managed due to a lack of match fitness and past injury worries, but the 29-year-old should be at his best next season. When he gets a full pre-season under his belt, there’s no reason why Coutinho can’t get the 2022/23 campaign off to a strong start.

Read Aston Villa noted the Brazilian has a history of suffering dips in forms as the season goes on, so he does have to vindicate Gerrard’s faith in him.

In other news, Noel Whelan says Steven Gerrard wants ‘inconsistent’ Emiliano Buendia to ‘exit’