Having already secured the services of seven new players this summer, Aston Villa are now closing in on signing Douglas Luiz from Manchester City.
According to the Telegraph, the Lions are reportedly set to capture the Brazilian midfielder for £15m with Dean Smith looking to put the final touches to his squad ahead of the upcoming Premier League campaign.
Luiz spent the entirety of the 2018/19 campaign on loan at Spanish side Girona where he made 29 appearances in all competitions (via Transfermarkt) following City’s failure to secure a work permit for him last summer (via the Daily Mail).
Although Villa currently face the same issue, as per the Manchester Evening News, they are far more likely to have success with the appeals process by illustrating just how important the midfielder will be to their team.
Given that Luiz has yet to make his bow in the Premier League for City (via Transfermarkt), bringing him in for such a sizeable fee does carry an element of risk for Villa as there is no guarantee that he will be able to thrive at this level.
Yet when you consider how much Pep Guardiola, who has managed the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Xabi Alonso during his career, rates him, it could turn out to be somewhat of a coup for Villa.
Speaking in 2018 about Luiz (as cited by the Manchester Evening News), the City boss admitted: “He has shown many good things in training sessions and the reason why we spent a lot of money to buy him is because he is a player with a huge capacity to play for us.”
Whereas the former Vasco da Gama player was unable to prevent Girona from being relegated from La Liga in May, he did show glimmers of promise during victories over Real Madrid and Sevilla, achieving WhoScored ratings of 7.72 and 7.32.
If he can hit the ground running for Villa, Luiz could provide competition for John McGinn and Jack Grealish who featured in a combined total of 77 Championship games last season (via WhoScored).
Villa fans, what are your thoughts on the latest news surrounding Luiz? Join the discussion by commenting below.
