Aston Villa remain optimistic they can come to an agreement with Barcelona over the transfer of Philippe Coutinho.
Steven Gerrard’s side have opened talks with the Catalan giants in recent days over a cut-price permanent move for the Brazil international.
Coutinho, 29, has impressed under the Liverpool legend, having netted four times and contributed to three assists in 15 Premier League matches, since his temporary switch in January.
Gerrard has seen Coutinho galvanise his side, due to his professionalism and playmaking abilities.
There was an initial agreement with Barcelona of the option to purchase Coutinho for £33 million ($40.66m) at the end of the current campaign.
Talks remain ongoing between all parties, and no fee has been agreed between the clubs as of yet. According to reports in Spain, Xavi is prepared to part ways with Coutinho for as little as £12.9m.
Barcelona are keen to get the playmaker off their wage bill, with the star currently earning £480,000-a-week.
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Coutinho, who has also been linked with Arsenal and Newcastle, would have to take a huge pay cut in order to facilitate a permanent move to Villa Park.
Gerrard sees the Brazilian as a big part of his future plans, and played alongside him for two-and-a-half-years during their time together at Liverpool.
The Rio-born Brazilian left Anfield for the Camp Nou in January 2018 for a fee in the region of £121m - the third-most expensive transfer ever.
Coutinho failed to hit the ground running in Spain, despite picking up two La Liga titles.
He eventually joined Bayern Munich but found himself on the fringes during the German champions’ treble-winning season. He did net a brace, though, as Bayern defeated Barcelona 8-2 in the memorable Champions League quarter-final encounter in August 2020.
