After helping his boyhood club to a comfortable mid-table finish, Aston Villa outcast Philippe Coutinho has attracted interest from across the globe as he returns to the Midlands from Vasco da Gama.

Coutinho scored three goals in 18 games for the Brazilian club with which he came through the ranks as a youngster. The 32-year-old returned to the home country last summer on a loan deal until the end of the Brazilian Série A season which ended last month and helped Vasco secure qualification for the Copa Sudamericana, South America's equivalent of the Europa League.

The veteran attacking midfielder is no longer in Unai Emery's plans at Villa Park. He fell out of favour shortly after the Spaniard's arrival in the Midlands and spent last season on loan at Qatari club Al-Duhail.

READ MORE: 'Brilliant' Aston Villa star drops transfer hint as Leeds and Sunderland circle

READ MORE: Aston Villa transfer target Donyell Malen reveals 'nonsense' reason he left Arsenal

Coutinho joined Villa back in January 2022 on an initial loan which was then made permanent. He started brightly under then-manager Steven Gerrard, scoring and assisting on his debut in a 2-2 draw against Manchester United but his form tailed off the season after.

With his loan in South America now over, Vasco are looking to re-sign the midfielder this January transfer window. However, the ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich player is attracting more interest in his services now with clubs from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates all emerging as potential destinations according to Brazilian publication RTI Esporte.

The former Brazil international has not been shy in revealing his desire to remain in his homeland, recently stating "I'm very happy, as I've always said... I'm at the club I love, where I wanted to be."

A meeting was recently held between Coutinho and his loan club, as reported by RTI Esporte, with a source who attended revealing: "The meeting was positive. We had a good conversation and heard from his staff that he wanted to seal the deal with Vasco."

It looks very likely that a deal will eventually be struck with the Villa fringe player with the player set on a return home, however, it will interesting to see whether Middle Eastern money could tempt the former Liverpool man back to that part of the world.

READ MORE: Aston Villa have handled perfectly what could have been a significant issue in the NSWE era

How do you assess Coutinho's time at Villa Park? Tell us here