'I don't think we'll see...' - Journalist drops off-field 'bad news' claim on Aston Villa star

Journalist Pete O’Rourke believes that Aston Villa’s swoop for Philippe Coutinho is bad news for Emiliano Buendia, as per GiveMeSport.

Steven Gerrard has guided Villa to consecutive wins after a poor run of form, with the most recent victory coming against Southampton on Saturday.

Club-record signing Buendia was once again left on the bench in that game, only coming in for the final nine minutes, with January arrival Coutinho starting in a front three alongside Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins.

That trio all got on the scoresheet, and with attention now turning to the trip to Leeds United on Thursday, O’Rourke has made a claim regarding Buendia.

Talking to GiveMeSport, the journalist believes that Coutinho’s arrival in the Midlands has been ‘bad news’ for the Argentine, with the pair very similar stylistically. He said:

“With Coutinho there on loan, it’s likely that he will play and start most games, and that’s probably bad news for Buendia, who is very similar to Coutinho.

“And although they did start off together, playing as two number 10’s, I don’t think we’ll see that too often going forward.”

Gerrard selected Buendia from the off in seven straight games over recent months, with Villa winning just one of those. However, with the playmaker now out of the team, the Villans have recorded successive victories for the first time since November.

In Gerrard’s 4-3-3 system, perhaps there is only room for one of Buendia or Coutinho in the starting XI, and if Villa exercise their option to make the Brazilian’s loan permanent over the summer, it could indeed spell trouble for the Argentine, who was brought to the club by former manager Dean Smith.

In other news: Reliable journalist reveals Villa and Lange have now struck