Aston Villa have been sensational this season, with Unai Emery turning the side into one that opponents dread facing.

The Spaniard’s influence is one of the main reasons for the development and success of the club, but he’s also brought in plenty of talent since his arrival.

Nevertheless, with the pressure to perform instantly in the Premier League extremely high, many players struggle to start their time at a new club with a bang.

However, there was one Villa player who was supposed to be the heir to Jack Grealish but never really improved upon their start to life at Villa Park.

Philippe Coutinho’s first impression

In the summer of 2021, Villa legend Grealish left the club to join Manchester City in a £100m deal, and at first, they were unable to replace the captain.

With their star attacker gone, the Villans struggled in the Premier League, instantly losing their opening game 3-2 to newly promoted Watford and losing five consecutive games from October to the start of November.

However, in January, their saviour arrived in the form of Philippe Coutinho, who joined the club on loan from Barcelona until the end of the season.

It didn’t take long for the Brazilian to make his mark on the Premier League once again, scoring on his debut for the club against Manchester United in a 2-2 draw.

In just his second start, Coutinho lit up Villa Park with an unbelievable performance against Leeds United, picking up a goal and two assists in a 3-3 draw.

Average rating

7.09

Matches

19

Goals

5

Assists

3

Shots (per game)

2.3

Successful dribbles (per game)

1.1

At that point, the former Liverpool gem was even regarded as a "better player" than Grealish when at his best by journalist Charlie Wilson, and for the rest of the campaign, Coutinho became influential in attack, netting five goals and providing three assists in 16 starts, but unfortunately, that was the peak of his Villa career.

Philippe Coutinho in 2024

After a promising loan spell, Villa decided to make Coutinho’s loan deal permanent, spending £17m on his signature from Barcelona.

However, at the start of November, the attacking midfielder picked up a hamstring injury, which saw him return to action 50 days later, missing eight matches in the process.

From that point on, he struggled to recover any of the form he once showed at the start of his Villa career, making just seven league starts all season and scoring once, with football writer Muhammad Butt calling him the "second biggest flop of all time" – in relation to his £142m move to Barcelona.

Fast forward to this season, and the number 23 made two sub appearances, before being shipped off to Qatar on loan due to Emery being unimpressed by the 31-year-old.

The 5 foot 8 wizard has played 12 games for Al Duhail this season, operating as a number ten. Over these games, Coutinho has scored four goals and picked up one assist.

It’s a shame that Coutinho failed to live up to his price tag or standards when joining Villa permanently, but with Emery’s current system, it’s difficult to see the creative midfielder have a major role to play.