2 years ago
Philippe Coutinho has completed a loan move to Aston Villa, giving Steven Gerrard another chance to fulfill a promise he made to Luis Suárez while at Liverpool.
Philippe Coutinho quickly won over the Kop with his twinkle toes and delicate passes that cut through defences like a knife through butter.
Arriving as a relatively unknown January transfer under Brendan Rodgers, the £8m spent to acquire his services may still be regarded as one of the club's best pieces of business.
Coutinho's electric touch and silky skills quickly earned him the nickname'magician' at Anfield, and it doesn't take long to see why.
During the 2013/14 season, the Brazilian truly came into his own, establishing himself as an integral part of an exciting Liverpool attack.
The silky, creative player made an indelible impression with some spectacular goals in a year when Liverpool came within a whisker of winning the Premier League.
At the end of the season, as the focal point of that attack, Luis Suárez, was preparing to leave Liverpool for good, he made one last request to then-Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.
"Take care of him. He's a nice kid "According to the report, Suárez allegedly told Gerrard as per the midfielder's autobiography.
"It showed how highly Suárez regarded Coutinho as a player," Gerrard wrote.
"I knew they were close because everyone in South America and Spain adores Luis. But when Luis singled out Philippe as our most special young talent, it struck a chord with me. It echoed my own point of view."
And Gerrard took care of him. But only for a short time before he called it quits at Anfield and, with it, his career.
But, as life has it, Steven Gerrard will have another chance to fulfill his promise to Luis Suárez, this time as a manager.
Coutinho has officially completed a transfer to Aston Villa, where he will work under former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard in an attempt to resurrect his career that has plummeted into the abyss in recent years.
In his final months at Liverpool, Coutinho was at the upper echelons of the footballing world.
It's easy to forget that at the time, he was regarded as one of the best, if not the best, player at the club.
That is why his departure to Barcelona, even if it was for a fee of £142 million, hurt so much at the time.
Nonetheless, his career has been marred by inconsistency. His best performance since leaving Anfield came against his current club, scoring twice against Barcelona while on loan at Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals.
It's strange that for a player of his caliber, things have gone so horribly wrong in such a short period of time (tomorrow marks four years to the day since he left Liverpool).
Coutinho has a golden opportunity at Aston Villa to demonstrate that he hasn't lost his way and that he still possesses the qualities that made him a fan favorite at Anfield.
He will be working for a familiar figure who not only admires him but also knows him personally.
Gerrard will face a challenge in getting the most out of Coutinho. It will most likely be his most difficult managerial challenge to date. But Gerrard is probably one of the best-positioned players in the world to pull it off.
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