Jamie Carragher issues verdict on Philippe Coutinho and a permanent Aston Villa transfer

Jamie Carragher has told Aston Villa that if they can secure a permanent deal for Philippe Coutinho and continue to make him their main man, then a £33m transfer deal will be a ‘snip’.

Villa attracted Coutinho to the club on loan from Barcelona in the January transfer window, thanks in no small part down to manager Steven Gerrard, who played alongside the playmaker during their days together at Liverpool.

At Barcelona, things didn’t work out; Coutinho played alongside the likes of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi, where he was one talented player in an entire squad packed full of superstars - it also included current Villa teammate Lucas Digne, too.

He endured a similar experience at Bayern Munich, but at Villa Coutinho has already hit the ground running and has provided goals and assists already in scintillating performances against Manchester United (on his debut from the bench) and more recently against Leeds United.

Carragher, who also played with Gerrard at Liverpool for a number of years, can see Coutinho continuing to flourish as Villa’s superstar if they can seal a £33m permanent deal at the end of the season, and everything goes swimmingly in the meantime.

“Something Steven Gerrard said when he came to the club was that he just needed to be loved - it’s an easy thing to say, a throwaway line, but when you think of the managers he’s had - Brendan Rodgers, Jurgen Klopp, Steven Gerrard now - that’s one of their characteristics,” Carragher told Sky Sports.

“That thing about being the main man, everyone trying to get the ball to him all the time, there’s always a player in your team. When I was playing it was Steven, can we get Stevie on the ball so he can make something happen?

“When he went to Barcelona,