Aston Villa attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho is “a waste of space” around the squad, as transfer insider Dean Jones provides GIVEMESPORT with his verdict on the flop’s future at Villa Park.

Head coach Unai Emery is happy to let the attack-minded player depart his Villans squad in the coming days.

Aston Villa transfer news – Philippe Coutinho

Emery confirmed in his pre-match press conference ahead of last weekend’s 3-0 defeat at Liverpool that Coutinho was close to leaving Villa, with a move to Qatari outfit Al Duhail drawing closer.

"He (Coutinho) is close to leaving, but we are waiting to see if the deal is complete or not. Philippe is a very good person, and always we have to respect him as a person, firstly,” said Emery (via BirminghamLive).

"Secondly, as a player, he has played at a very high level. He has not been consistent because of injuries, and we decided with him speaking and agreeing with him to try that if something is good for him and good for the club and for the squad, we can let him leave. Then he can find his good performance as a player. Then it’s whether he completes it or not."

Coutinho arrived in a permanent deal at Villa Park for £17m last summer, having enjoyed a successful loan spell in the second half of the 2021/22 season. But the former Liverpool star has failed to reach the heights of his first half-campaign and has been left behind by Emery’s progressive Villans squad.

What has Jones said about Aston Villa and Coutinho?

Jones believes it will be a “let down” if Coutinho remains at Villa beyond the remaining transfer windows closing across the globe, having been unable to make an impact on the team.

The transfer insider told GIVEMESPORT: “I think Coutinho still has the potential to leave Aston Villa. It will be a bit of a let down on Villa’s side if Coutinho is still a player for them beyond all the other transfer windows closing. He’s a player that is kind of a waste of space around the squad at the moment. He's a big name on big money but not making a big impact on the team, and you can't afford to have that.

“Villa are looking to build something new now, and because of the freshness of everything else, I feel like having somebody who's gone stale like Coutinho won’t help the squad at all.”

What next for Aston Villa?

TalkSPORT reporter Alex Crook had suggested to GIVEMESPORT that Coutinho’s departure before Deadline Day could have made room for the Villans to make another attacking addition this summer. However, the club’s failure to sanction a transfer in time means that Emery must wait until January to bolster his forward line.

The Spanish head coach aims to address the on-pitch issues that contributed to Villa’s 3-0 defeat at Liverpool last weekend, having preceded the fixture with 4-0 and 3-1 victories over Everton and Burnley, respectively. The one-time European Cup winners return to action when Crystal Palace visit Villa Park after the international break on 16th September before travelling to Legia Warsaw in their Europa Conference League group stage opener.