Gerrard must finally unleash “world-class” £16.2m-rated gem, he’s just what Villa need - opinion

Aston Villa made their marquee signing in January when they secured Philippe Coutinho on loan from Barcelona, with Steven Gerrard’s former team-mate already making an impact on the team.

Coutinho has made two appearances for the Villans so far, with his debut against Manchester United being the more notable of those when he came off the bench in the 68th minute to inspire an epic comeback from 2-0 down,. He set up Jacob Ramsey to halve the deficit and then scored the equaliser to rescue a point, all in the space of just 14 minutes.

He then went on to play 72 minutes as a starter against Everton as Villa won their first game in three and pushed closer to the top half of the table.

The winger has 177 goals and assists in his club career, scoring or setting up a goal on average every 157 minutes. He has won three league titles and one Champions League since he left Liverpool in 2018 in a deal worth a staggering £146m.

The £16.2m-rated gem was praised lavishly by his current manager before the club secured his signature for the rest of the season, with Gerrard saying: “He’s a wonderful footballer, to share a dressing room and a pitch with Coutinho was an absolute pleasure because he is on a level that very few footballers are on…You are talking about a world-class player.”

Gerrard must now use every opportunity he can to unleash Coutinho in his Villa side, with the 29-year-old’s impact possibly setting the bar for what is yet to come. The manager must capitalise on the time that he has to utilise the Brazilian’s talents in order to give Villa their best chance to secure a lofty league position and potentially qualify for Europe.

Villa return to action in the Premier League on Wednesday against Leeds United, and it will be