“I’m told..:” Fabrizio Romano drops behind-the-scenes Villa claim, fans surely buzzing - opinion

Aston Villa were one of the busier Premier League clubs in terms of their business throughout the recent  January transfer window, with four new senior players brought in and some existing squad members moved out on loan to other clubs.

Now that the dust has settled and the window has closed, it seems as though some positive news has emerged regarding one of Villa’s new winter recruits which could bode well for the club when the summer transfer window opens.

Speaking on a recent edition of Rio Ferdinand’s FIVE podcast (via Birmingham Live), journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano was talking about Philippe Coutinho’s current situation at the club.

The journalist said: “He’s started very well. I’m told also from some people into the club that in training, he seems really happy, super happy with Steven Gerrard, super happy with the atmosphere.

“Who’s close to Coutinho? Agents. They say they never saw Philippe happy and ready to fight as they see him right now.”

Villa signed the Brazilian on loan from Barcelona until the end of the current season, with an option to make it permanent in the summer for a fee of £33m.

Although he has only played two games in a Villa shirt – with the first seeing the 29-year-old score a crucial equaliser in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United before completing 74 minutes in their 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park – fans will surely be delighted to hear that Coutinho is apparently very happy at the club.

While there’s still a considerable amount of time left until the summer transfer window opens, this bodes well for Villa’s hopes of securing a permanent deal for him if they think it would be worth doing so.

Moving forward, if Coutinho remains happy in his new surroundings at