Philippe Coutinho and Steven Gerrard are back in tandem, nine years after they first began to forge an alliance at Liverpool.
Gerrard referred to Coutinho as a friend this week, but he is also set to be his boss at Aston Villa after the Brazilian agreed to join from Barcelona.
The theory is that if anyone can get a tune out of Coutinho, it should be his former Liverpool captain, given the strong relationship they had on the pitch, which has endured in the years since.
Barcelona hoped Coutinho would be a leader in their orchestra, but instead his displays often struck a bum note, and the Blaugrana are happy to have offloaded one of the most expensive signings in their history.
Exactly how much they have ended up paying Liverpool for Coutinho is unclear, given the various clauses that were in the January 2018 deal, but he cost the Catalans giants well over £100million, and the return on that investment was far from what was expected.
In LaLiga, he played 76 times, starting 51 games, and managed 17 goals and nine assists. Overall, he had 26 goals and 13 assists in 106 games.
Gerrard will be hoping the 29-year-old Coutinho can sprinkle some magic at Villa, having already shown his qualities in the Premier League.
After a slow start at Liverpool, his performances came on leaps and bounds; across his final two and a half seasons with the Reds, Coutinho managed 38 goals and 24 assists in 99 matches.
In this World Cup year, Coutinho will want to be playing regularly. Such a prospect was off the table at Barcelona, where planning for the long-term future is the order of the day, along with hacking down the wage bill.
Coutinho made an encouraging start at Barcelona, and across all competitions he managed 10 goals and six assists in just 22 games across his first half-season with the Blaugrana.
In 2018-19, he played 54 times and finished with 11 goals and five assists, with his productivity already in decline. From an average of 0.97 goal involvements (goals and assists) per 90 minutes in that honeymoon period after first arriving from Liverpool, his contribution shrank to 0.43 involvements per 90 in his first full season.
In an all-conquering Bayern side, that bounced back up to 0.84 goal involvements per 90 minutes in the 2019-20 campaign, but Coutinho could not crack on at that pace once back at Camp Nou.
Last term, as he made just fitful contributions, his involvements averaged out at 0.57 per 90, and this season's rate was just 0.3 as his inevitable exit approached.
In his final half-season at Anfield, the former Inter winger was contributing 1.2 goal involvements per game as his Reds form peaked.
Across his Reds career, Coutinho scored 19 Premier League goals from outside the penalty area, Opta said. Only Gerrard has scored more for the club from outside the box (33).
Since returning to Barcelona from Bayern, Barcelona have tended to do better when Coutinho has played no part in games.
When he has been involved, either as a starter or substitute, they have won just nine of 24 LaLiga games for a 37.5 per cent success rate, averaging 1.4 points and 1.5 goals.
But without him they have won 23 of 33 (69.7 per cent) in LaLiga, losing only three times, averaging 2.3 points and 2.4 goals per game.
It is little wonder he has played just 26 per cent of minutes across all competitions for Barcelona this season. Injuries have blighted his Barcelona career, and if this is the end, with a loan potentially leading to a sale, then all parties will be happy to move on.
Villa are signing a special player, one that Gerrard still likes to tag as a "magician", but also a footballer who perhaps needs a reminder of those old tricks in his repertoire.
If Gerrard can bring back that spark, that trickery with end results, Villa will be all the better for it.
In focus: The semi-finalists of the Women’s Champions League
The semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League get under way this weekend, with Saturday seeing Chelsea play at Barcelona in their first leg and Lyon host Paris St Germain.
Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the four remaining sides bidding for a place in the May 25 final in Bilbao.
ChelseaEmma Hayes’ Blues take on Barcelona again having been beaten by them 2-1 on aggregate in last season’s semis, and 4-0 in the 2021 final. That is the only time an English side has featured in the final apart from when Arsenal won it in 2007, with Hayes on the coaching staff. Chelsea are seeking a glorious conclusion to the 47-year-old’s trophy-laden tenure before she departs this summer to take charge of the United States – but have recently seen quadruple and then treble hopes ended by defeat to Arsenal in the League Cup final and Manchester United in the FA Cup last four. Their bid for a fifth successive Women’s Super League title sees them currently top via goal difference after Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa.
BarcelonaBarca claimed their second Champions League crown with a dramatic 3-2 win over Wolfsburg in Eindhoven last term and have played in four of the last five finals. Closing in on another Liga F title that would also make it five in a row, their formidable squad, managed by Jonatan Giraldez, includes England duo Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh and 2023 World Cup winners Alexia Putellas, the captain, and Aitana Bonmati, who have two and one Ballon d’Ors to their name respectively. The team’s domestic league record for this season shows 22 wins and one draw from 23 matches, with 102 goals scored along the way.
LyonThe French outfit have been the major force over the course of this competition’s history, lifting the trophy a record eight times. Within that was five successive triumphs from 2016 to 2020 and another in 2022. They are back in the last four this season after a quarter-final exit last term at the hands of Chelsea. Boss Sonia Bompastor, the former Lyon player who has overseen the team winning the league title twice as well as the European success since taking charge in 2021, has been linked with the job of succeeding Hayes.
Paris St GermainPSG – who defeated Manchester United in this season’s Champions League qualifying rounds – had their best runs in the competition to date when finishing as runners-up in 2015 and 2017, on the second occasion being beaten in a penalty shoot-out by Lyon in Cardiff. They lost to Lyon in the semis the year in between, and in two of three last-four appearances since – the other in 2021 came after overcoming them in the quarter-finals, and they also pipped them that year to claim a maiden French top-flight title. Jocelyn Precheur’s side are currently nine points behind leaders Lyon in second place in Division 1 Feminin with two games to go before the play-offs.
Football rumours: Mo Salah tipped to leave Liverpool
Mo Salah is keen to leave Liverpool after a failed £200 million transfer bid, with the Sun reporting that three replacements have now been identified.
The i says Sean Dyche‘s job as Everton manager is not under threat, in spite of the club’s recent poor form.
Gremio left winger Gustavo Nunes, a rising star from Brazil, is attracting interest from Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal despite only making his senior debut in February, writes the Daily Mail.
Social media round-upPlayers to watchMason Greenwood: Manchester United could offer him as part of a deal to sign Brazil defender Gleison Bremer, 27, from Juventus, Gazzetta dello Sport claims.
Jarrad Branthwaite: Bayern Munich and Tottenham have joined Manchester United in considering a move for the Everton defender, as per Teamtalk.
Idrissa Gana Gueye: Saudi Pro League clubs are interested in the 34-year-old midfielder, who is unlikely to be offered a new deal by Everton when his contract expires, writes Football Insider.
Aldershot move into play-off places with victory at 10-man Gateshead
Kwame Thomas headed Aldershot into the National League play-off places in a 1-0 win away to a Gateshead side who played almost half the match with a defender deputising in goal.
Gateshead had goalkeeper Nathan Harness sent off in the 47th minute for bringing down James Daly outside the box and, with no stopper on the bench, Louis Storey went between the posts for the rest of the night.
Storey made a good save to keep out Cian Harries’ free-kick in the 51st minute, but could do nothing as the visitors took the lead 10 minutes later.
Thomas got on the end of a looping cross from Josh Barrett to head in, and it proved enough for a win that puts them one point above FC Halifax, who host Oldham on Thursday.
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