Express & Star

Brazil star set to depart Aston Villa on loan

Forgotten Villa man Philippe Coutinho is close to securing a return to Brazil on loan.

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Aston Villa's Philippe Coutinho

The 32-year-old playmaker is expected to join Vasco de Gama, the club where he began his career as a teenager, though reports in South America claim the deal will not be permanent as previously expected.

Villa had been hoping to move Coutinho off the books for good after a nightmare couple of years blighted by poor form and injury since arriving in a £17million switch from Barcelona.