Aston Villa 'have had constructive talks' with midfielder Douglas Luiz over the possibility of signing a new contract, The Telegraph's John Percy reports.

The lowdown

Of the six Villa players whose contracts are due to expire in 12 months' time, Luiz is regarded as the most valuable by Transfermarkt (£34.2million).

As it stands, he will be able to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign suitor come 1 January.

Villa have signed a new defensive midfielder this summer in the form of Boubacar Kamara, but clearly they're still intent on tying Luiz down, three years after his move from Manchester City.

The latest

Percy took to Twitter on Friday to afternoon to reveal that Villa have been in positive discussions with the Brazilian over an extension.

He's attracting 'interest from clubs across Europe, including in the Champions League'.

Perhaps that's created an additional sense of urgency for Aston Villa, who are 'hopeful he will stay'.

The verdict

As per Spotrac, Luiz sits around the middle of Villa's earning list at present. There are 11 players who take home more than his roughly £33,00 per week.

He may not be pushing the very highest bracket with a new deal - Danny Ings leads the way on £120,000, while Tyrone Mings and Bertrand Traore fetch around £80,000 - but he'll be expecting a considerable uplift.

That's because he'll understand his value to the team, having started 31 of their 38 Premier League matches last season.

Ex-Villan Gabriel Agbonlahor said in March that Gerrard had 'transformed' Luiz and unlocked some 'outstanding' performances and so losing him now would definitely be a blow.