Steven Gerrard granted Philippe Coutinho's transfer 'wish' as Aston Villa hint dropped

Philippe Coutinho has hinted at a permanent move to Aston Villa by explaining how Steven Gerrard granted his 'wish'.

Coutinho signed for Villa until the end of the season in January, opting to move to the Second City on loan and escape Barcelona after four hard years in Catalonia.

Signed for a whopping £142 million from Liverpool in 2018, Coutinho has struggled to make an impact at the Camp Nou and is in his second loan spell away from Barcelona having spent the 2019-20 campaign at Bayern Munich.

Coutinho is out of contract at the end of next season and Villa have the chance to buy the player for £33 million upon the conclusion of the current campaign.

He has begun life at Villa well with two goals and two assists in six games, starting the five games since his debut off the substitute's bench against Manchester United on January 15.

In an interview with the media in his native Brazil, Coutinho outlined how Gerrard has made him 'feel loved' again.

"I have always had this relationship of admiration and respect," Coutinho told ESPN of Gerrard.

"I wish I had that opportunity to work with him again. He is a guy who is very open to all players and has a lot of influence in the group.

"I think everyone likes to be treated well, to be in a place where they feel appreciated. Where they can be helping you, they want things to work out.

"I believe you should think the same about your work.

"It's like I said, whatever team I'm defending I'll always give my best, but if you're in a place where you feel loved, you'll be able to give your best."

Coutinho's relationship with Gerrard, with the pair team-maets during their respective times at Liverpool, was one of the reasons Villa were able to land the Brazilian international.