Steven Gerrard isn’t surprised by the positive impact Philippe Coutinho has already had during his short time at Aston Villa.
Coutinho joined the club in mid-January and has made a huge impression, contributing two goals and two assists in his three appearances so far and becoming a firm fans’ favourite with Villa supporters.
He also shone on the international stage earlier this month, contributing a stunning strike for Brazil in their World Cup qualifier against Paraguay; his first goal for his country since October 2020.
And head coach Gerrard, who played alongside Coutinho at Liverpool, feels the 29-year-old has settled quickly into life at the club.
“In terms of the impact he’s had so far, it’s been no surprise to me because he’s a wonderful footballer,” he said.
“We had time to get him settled in here, he’s settled really quick, all the staff have been fantastic in terms of their support around Phil.
“And he’s back smiling. He’s training hard, the players appreciate his talent and are helping him as well so it’s in a real good place at the moment and long may that continue.”
Coutinho’s quality was on show for all to see during Wednesday’s breathless 3-3 draw against Leeds United.
The attacking midfielder registered a fine strike to draw Villa level before twice setting up Jacob Ramsey in a matter of five minutes, the first a neat turn near the halfway line before showing superb vision to send clear his Villa team-mate to score.
Throw in some moments of skilful brilliance and it’s clear to see why fans and pundits alike have been hugely impressed with his start to life in a claret and blue shirt.
And Gerrard believes he can still get even better as he continues to develop his fitness.
“His vision is certainly a major strength to him as a player. He’s lovely on the eye to watch, his technical ability is high level,” said the Villa boss.
“I don’t think I have to go on about Phil Coutinho the player, you just have to watch him to admire the class and the way he goes about it.
“For me, the key thing here was to get him up to speed from a physical point of view and we’re still working on that. I think he can still get fitter and stronger and he will do with more training and more games.
“Then it was about getting him enjoying his football again, enjoying being around the boys, smiling and really looking forward to playing.
“You can see in his performance that he feels like this is his stage again.
“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 like him if you spoke to him day-to-day. He’s just a great human being.”