Philippe Coutinho joins Aston Villa on loan from Barcelona

Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho will join Aston Villa on loan for the rest of the season, the Premier League club announced on Friday.

Villa have the option to buy the Brazil international, who is now expected to travel to Birmingham to complete the formalities of his move.

Kieran Trippier 'delighted' to sign for Newcastle and 'aware there is a lot of work ahead'

The midfielder will link up with Villa boss Steven Gerrard, who he played with at Liverpool from 2013-15.

"Aston Villa and FC Barcelona have agreed terms for Philippe Coutinho to spend the rest of this season on loan at Villa Park," Villa said.

"The agreement, which is subject to the player completing a medical and receiving a work permit, also includes an option to buy and Philippe will travel to Birmingham in the next 48 hours."

Villa are 13th in the Premier League after three defeats in four games following a bright start under Gerrard, who took over at Villa Park in November.

Gerrard on Thursday described his former Liverpool teammate as a "special footballer" while refusing to comment on speculation linking him with a move to Villa.

Barcelona said in a statement that Coutinho, who has made 106 appearances for the club, was expected to travel to Birmingham in the next few hours.

Coutinho has struggled to establish himself as an automatic choice in his four years at Camp Nou after signing from Liverpool for €135 million.

He has made just 12 La Liga appearances this season, scoring two goals as Barca languish in fifth place, 15 points behind leaders Real Madrid.

It is the second time the 29-year-old Brazil playmaker has been loaned out by Barcelona having spent the 2019/20 season at Bayern Munich, who he helped to win the Champions League, knocking out his parent club en route to the title.

Villa next face Manchester United on Monday in the FA Cup third round.

Keane on …

Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”

Mohamed Salah’s debut campaign at Anfield: “Unbelievable. He’s been phenomenal. You can name the front three, but for him on a personal level, he’s been unreal. He’s been great to watch and hopefully he can continue now until the end of the season - which I’m sure he will, because he’s been in fine form. He’s been incredible this season.”

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”

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Country-size land deals

US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:

Louisiana Purchase

If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.

Florida Purchase Treaty

The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.

Alaska purchase

America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km² of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".

The Philippines

At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.

US Virgin Islands

It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.

Gwadar

The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.

Jebel Ali Dragons 26 Bahrain 23

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