When Philippe Coutinho initially joined Aston Villa on loan from Barcelona in January last season it seemed like something of a coup for the Midlands club.

However, he has failed to replicate his performances from early in his loan spell under Steven Gerrard and is now burning a significant wage in Unai Emery's squad.

How much has Coutinho cost Aston Villa?

The Brazilian magician would sign for the Villans on a temporary deal from Barcelona early in the 2022 January window.

422 days later, he has just six goals and three assists to his name in a Villa shirt, the vast majority of which came in his first few appearances for the club.

After grabbing Liverpool man would then go on a run of ten games without a goal contribution before his final-day goal against Manchester City.

He was then signed permanently for £17m but this season has been even more disappointing, as he has just one goal and no assists to his name in 20 Premier League appearances, with WhoScored awarding him a shocking 6.37 average rating.

This ranks him as the 17th-best performer in Emery's squad so far this campaign, which simply isn't good enough for a player of his obvious quality, while he is a long way from justifying his £125k-per-week wages.

Coutinho has been at Villa for 61 weeks now, which means that NSWE have spent £7,625,000 on his wages, resulting in a total of more than £24m when you factor in his transfer fee.

The 30-year-old was once regarded as one of the best in the Premier League during his time with Liverpool, hitting 54 goals and 45 assists during his time at Anfield, which earned him his £146m move to Barcelona only five years ago.

It has been a sad decline for the attacking midfielder since then, with his time at the Nou Camp proving to be a disaster, while his days at Villa Park could also soon be numbered unless he can turn his fortunes around.

Dean Saunders, who is a pundit on talkSPORT, was less than complimentary about the Brazilian earlier in the season, suggesting that he is simply "not doing his job" at Villa, and that was one of the reasons behind the poor form under Gerrard.

Given his contract runs until 2026, Emery must get rid of Coutinho at the earliest opportunity, rather than letting such an expensive squad player rot on the bench.