Aston Villa can sign Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho on the cheap.

Coutinho is already amongst the goals during his loan with Villa, where the deal does not carry a formal permanent option.

Sport says the outline of a deal worth €40m was raised during negotiations.

However, with Coutinho's Barca contract now inside it's final 18 months, there's an understanding between the two clubs that a fee in the region of €25m will be more realistic.

Since his Villa debut, the midfielder has scored 2 goals and provided 2 assists in the space of three games.