Jamie Carragher warns Coutinho against making "reckless" transfer decision

Jamie Carragher has urged Philippe Coutinho to join Aston Villa on a permanent basis to avoid a repeat of his "reckless" decision to leave Liverpool.

The Brazilian endured a torrid time at Barcelona when he left Anfield four years ago in a £142million move.

Coutinho looks back to his best at Villa Park, however, making an immediate impact with foul goal contributions in his first three games following his loan switch back to the Premier League.

Villa have an option to make the loan move permanent in the summer and if he keeps up this form, it's an avenue they will certainly go down.

And Carragher hopes Coutinho will take them up on their offer and learn from his mistake when he left Liverpool in 2018.

Should Philippe Coutinho sign for Aston Villa on a permanent basis? Comment below

"It is rare for any footballer to go through a career without having some regrets", Carragher wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.

"Every decision can have an impact on the short and long-term future.

"Given what has happened since 2018, it would be strange if Coutinho has not often wished to turn back the clock and take a different path.

"If the positive early signs are a taste of what is to come, he may have a familiar dilemma should Villa seek a permanent £33m deal come the summer.

"To walk away from a club where the fans and manager adore him once would be careless.

"Doing it again would be reckless."

Steven Gerrard reckons "vintage" Coutinho is on display at the moment and the Villa boss has praised his influence.

He said: "He was desperate to come back to the Premier League and we've given him everything he needs to go out there and perform.

"For me, the good thing about Phil is he's so humble, so level-headed, he's so grounded that you wouldn't think you were dealing with a world-class star if you spoke to him day-to-day. He's just a great human being.

"His vision is a major strength to him as a player. He's lovely on the eye to watch, his technical ability is high level. I don't think I have to go on about Phil Coutinho the player, you just have to watch and admire the class with which he goes about it.

"For me, the key thing was to get him up to speed from a physical point of view and we're still working on that. He can get fitter and stronger and he will do with more training and games.

"Then it was about getting him enjoying his football again, being around the boys, smiling and looking forward to playing. You can see in his performance that he feels this is his stage again."

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