Highlights
- Aston Villa reportedly tried to make a surprise transfer move that didn’t materialize, according to transfer insider Ben Jacobs.
- Philippe Coutinho looks set to leave Villa Park and join Al Duhail on loan.
- Jermaine Jenas criticised Aston Villa’s defensive tactics after their 3-0 loss to Liverpool, highlighting the need for squad depth.
Aston Villa tried to pull off a surprise transfer swoop late in the window that never came to fruition at Villa Park, according to reports from transfer insider Ben Jacobs.
What’s the latest news involving Aston Villa?
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has issued an update confirming that Philippe Coutinho looks to be on his way out of Villa Park following months of speculation surrounding his future, as he stated: “Al Duhail are now closing in on Philippe Coutinho deal! Agreement being sealed with Aston Villa on loan move with salary covered. Coutinho accepted 10 days ago as he rejected approaches from Besiktas and Betis to join Qatari side Al Duhail. Here we go, soon.”
In his time in the West Midlands, Coutinho has struggled to make a lasting impact at the club and has registered six goals and three assists in 43 appearances across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.
Last weekend, Aston Villa were trounced 3-0 by Premier League title hopefuls Liverpool at Anfield and former Villans’ midfielder Jermaine Jenas spoke on Match of the Day 2 – via Birmingham Live – and aired his frustration at their defensive line, stating: “I think their game plan defensively today was quite worrying. First and foremost mistakes like these and inviting pressure at Anfield, you’re asking for trouble when you start playing like this, you’ve got to be much more incisive. There’s certain things in football that never change.”
The Villans will take stock and recuperate over the international break before returning to action against Crystal Palace at Villa Park on September 16th. European adventures lie in wait for the Villans the following week, where they will travel to Poland to face Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League.
What has Ben Jacobs said?
According to journalist Jacobs writing in is column for CaughtOffside, Aston Villa were keen suitors for Sancho late in the summer, but Monchi’s interest was deterred by Erik ten Hag: “Sancho was not really a player Ten Hag wanted to sell this summer despite early interest from Spurs and late interest from Aston Villa.”
Of course, Sancho has got himself into hot water recently after he publicly responded to comments from Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag made about his level of performance in training, cited by The Mirror.
Sancho took to social media to express his frustration at becoming something of a “scapegoat” at Old Trafford and it is said that Ten Hag could look to jettison the England international from involvement in senior training due to his reaction to the situation alongside enacting potential disciplinary action.
The former Borussia Dortmund ace, who earns around £350k-a-week on the books at Manchester United, hasn’t exactly set the heather alight since moving to the North West in 2021 for a reported fee of £73 million.
As per Transfermarkt, Sancho has notched six goals and 12 assists in 82 appearances across all competitions for Manchester United, signifying a lack of consistency since his return to English football.
Truthfully, we will never know if Sancho could’ve found his feet again at Villa Park; however, Unai Emery and Monchi will have to be happy with the offensive options they have available for the remainder of the campaign.