Gerrard hopes Coutinho will sign for Aston Villa permanently

Steven Gerrard believes Philippe Coutinho can help revive Aston Villa’s glorious past if he signs permanently, following a spectacular start to his loan spell.

Coutinho has three goals and three assists in seven games since Gerrard brought in his old Liverpool team-mate from Barcelona in January.

Now, as he prepares to face Leeds on Thursday, Gerrard challenged Villa to finish in the top 10 for the first time since 2011 — but his aims, and those of billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, are higher.

Gerrard was careful not to directly call for Villa to buy Coutinho, who is 30 in June and would command high wages, but his opinion is clear.

‘Phil was successful at Barcelona but he had difficult periods as well,’ said Gerrard. ‘He got to the stage where he needed a change of scenery and a different movie.

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‘We want to be that movie for him because if we want to get to where we want to be, we need to build it around talents like Phil, because at his best he is a high-level player.

‘All good teams have game-changers who the opposition are really concerned about before a ball is kicked. Phil has that status and he is giving belief to his team-mates.

‘Our strikers Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings want him alongside them because he delivers on the big stage. I don’t control transfer fees or wages. All I can do is give my opinion to (sporting director) Johan Lange, (chief