A player is trying to end his current contract at Aston Villa, and is ready to jet abroad for talks with a foreign club as he looks to make a deal happen soon.

Emery praised as Aston Villa qualify for Champions League

A fantastic 2023/2024 Premier League campaign saw Villa do something they hadn’t done previously since the 1980s – qualify for Europe’s most prestigious competition in the Champions League.

It was quite the full debut season for manager Unai Emery, who has endeared himself to the club’s faithful whilst ushering in an exciting new era at Villa Park. The Spaniard beat Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham to fourth, despite losing 4-0 to them at home in March, and ended 23/24 with the joint-fourth-best defensive record in the division.

They achieved some great results against big hitters last season, including a vital 2-0 win away to Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta himself praising the “huge impact” Emery has had since replacing Steven Gerrard in late 2022.

“Obviously he’s from very close to my hometown and I have huge admiration for him and his respect. I wish him the best after Sunday, but what is doing is really impressive,” said Arteta on Emery last season.

He continued: “What they’ve done since Unai came in. He’s made a huge impact at the club in terms of performances and consistency, it’s unbelievable what they are doing. They’re still in European competition and they played last night so its really impressive with what they’ve done.”

NSWE and Villa chiefs, following a historic campaign and their best finish of the Premier League era, are prepared to back Emery with new signings in the summer transfer window. Reports suggest Villa want to sign new midfielders for Emery, among other key positions, but will need to balance the books with player sales to avoid potential PSR breaches – especially given they made a £119 million loss for the 2022/2023 season.

Transfer chief Monchi is already closing in on Villa’s first signing in Luton Town star Ross Barkley, with the Englishman poised to make a return to the Midlands. In terms of who could make way, the club look to be eager to fully offload high-earning midfielder Philippe Coutinho.

Coutinho trying to end Aston Villa contract as Vasco de Gama talks planned

The £125,000-per-week midfielder’s move from Barcelona hasn’t exactly worked out, and he spent 23/24 on loan at Qatari side Al-Duhail.

Band.com have an update on his future, and it is believed Coutinho is trying to end his Aston Villa contract as he plans talks with Vasco de Gama. The Brazilian is due to fly out there for talks on Saturday 25th May, with the expectation being his trip will speed up negotiations to conclude a deal.

They add that Coutinho has “never been so close” to leaving Villa, which will come as good news for some supporters who wish to part ways with the ex-Liverpool star.

GET MORE NEWS HERE