AVFC's "extraordinary" £85k-p/w talent has been ruined by Coutinho's arrival - opinion

Aston Villa’s season has been a tale of two halves so far with the side falling into 16th with Dean Smith before Steven Gerrard was appointed in November.

They are now battling for a comfortable spot in the top half of the table currently ninth in the Premier League table, thanks to a huge U-turn in performances with the help of their new manager.

The Villa boss added some key signings at the first opportunity in the January transfer window, securing the signatures of Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne, with the pair of them becoming consistent starters in the team since their arrival.

The Brazilian especially has made a notable impact since arriving less than eight weeks ago, scoring four goals and assisting three times in just nine appearances so far.

With that in mind, the addition of Coutinho has pushed the competition for a position in the forward line to new extremes, as the side’s attacking options were already highly competitive before the Barcelona loanee’s arrival.

Now with speculation mounting on Villa’s plans to permanently sign the forward, it could mean Gerrard needs to make a decision on the future of the other players struggling for a spot.

One player who has suffered the sting of limited game time this season is summer signing Leon Bailey, who has only made 13 appearances for his new club, scoring one goal and serving up two assists for his team so far.

The addition of Coutinho hasn’t helped his cause and if he signs permanently, match action for Bailey will be even trickier to find.

The £85k-per-week winger who was hailed “extraordinary” by Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Völler, joined Villa park after stealing the spotlight in the Bundesliga with a goal involvement every two games for Bayern