When he joined Aston Villa permanently, Philippe Coutinho dreamed of finally getting his career back on track after a miserable spell at Barcelona.
But that dream has quickly turned to a nightmare, with manager Unai Emery now open to letting him leave Villa Park.
It had appeared that Brazilian champions Flamengo may attempt a loan move, but Villa will only accept a permanent departure.
That resulted in Flamengo abandoning their pursuit of the attacking midfielder, with his prospects of a re-emergence at Villa unlikely. It is quite the fall from grace for the 30-year-old, who was bought by Barcelona for £142million just five years ago.
His time at the Nou Camp was a disaster, but he did show sparks of quality during his loan spell at Villa last season. That led to the Midlands side buying him for £17m in the summer, with Steven Gerrard insisting his best performances were yet to come.
"I think it's fantastic for everyone connected with the club. You've seen the reaction from the supporters, it's very positive, they've seen him over the last five or six months play ever so well," he said upon Coutinho's arrival on a permanent deal.
"He's still got loads left in him, in our opinion. To have him here full time and settled, I think he'll come again and go up another level because of that feeling of knowing where he's going to be playing for the next four years.
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"I think he is a player that needs to feel wanted, he needs to feel support. Everyone at Villa is playing their part… the owners especially have made him feel really special. He feels really happy here, and it's fantastic that he wants to be part of this journey."
But Coutinho has struggled to live up to those high hopes, failing to score or assist in his first 13 games of the campaign. In September, Gerrard insisted that the midfielder would soon show his quality after being left out of the Brazil national team's squad.
“He has had his strongest week this week. Knowing what is inside Phil – the character, the man, the player – I think he is sleeves up at the moment and we have seen that in training this week," the then-Villa boss said.
“He has been the top performer by some distance. That is where we need Phil Coutinho because that is when you see the Phil Coutinho that we love."
Gerrard continued to be left frustrated by Coutinho though, with barely any pick-up in his performances. Though he insisted he had "full confidence" in the 30-year-old, he dropped him for the defeat at Fulham, which proved to be the Liverpool legend's final game in charge.
Amid the recriminations about what led to Gerrard's sacking, Coutinho came in for heavy criticism. Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor went as far as demanding the midfielder apologise to Gerrard for his performances.
“Coutinho was his man and he didn’t perform for him. Coutinho owes Gerrard an apology, for me, for the way he performed, Gerrard backed him," he told talkSPORT. Emery is now in charge at Villa Park, but injury has ruled Coutinho out of his first two games in charge.
But former Arsenal star Kevin Campbell believes there is little hope for Coutinho to resurrect his Villa career. Campbell told Football Insider : “Unai Emery got a tune out of Villa without Coutinho in the side. He’s a high earner, and if he’s not going to play – it could be a recipe for disaster.
“All it takes though is one injury for Coutinho to come back in, and come in to a team full of confidence.
"That could change things for him. If he’s not playing, and not in the plans of Emery – then he’s not an asset, and Emery will be looking for a way to cash in and get that big wage off the books.”
While he recovers from his hamstring problem, Brazil are impressing at the World Cup. Coutinho should be at the peak of his career, and starring for A Selecao.
Instead though, he is sat at home in frustration. And with Flamengo abandoning their transfer pursuit and Emery not keen on him, it is hard to see how he will be able to get his career back on track.
