Douglas Luiz Deal Should Excite Aston Villa Supporters
By Josh Tonti
The Manchester City midfielder, who spent two seasons on-loan abroad with La Liga club Girona, is rumored to be going to Aston Villa in a £15 million deal.
Out of nowhere, tweets began percolating on Friday that Aston Villa are close to a deal for Manchester City central midfielder Douglas Luiz. The 21-year-old is an exciting prospect that spent the previous two seasons abroad with Girona on-loan.
Luiz, a Pep Guardiola favorite, was supposed to begin his career in the City first-team behind Fernandinho. However, a failed work permit application meant the player had to settle for a two-year loan move in Spain.
Due to muscle injuries, Luiz was limited to 36 total appearances over the stretch, but we can’t say he didn’t impress:
— Claret Villans (@ClaretVillans) July 12, 2019
From John Percy: Douglas Luiz is meeting-up with Villa in the United States.
Big breaking news from #avfc. A £15m deal for @ManCity midfielder Douglas Luiz is close. The Brazilian is flying out to join the squad in USA https://t.co/AxnMr7znn7 via @telefootball
— John Percy (@JPercyTelegraph) July 12, 2019
Luiz captains the Brazil U-23 team, which is pertinent because the country takes Olympic qualifying/the U-23 age group very seriously. Luiz featured heavily at the 2019 Toulon Tournament in early June where Brazil lifted the trophy over Japan in the final (It actually went to penalties, where Luiz nailed his spot kick). In the group stage, Brazil went 3-0 over Guatemala, France, and Qatar with an insane 13 goals for and 0 against, going for 4-0, 4-0, and 5-0 victories.
Luiz was a huge part of that, scoring once.
With Aston Villa, he has the chance to light-up the Premier League behind John McGinn, Jack Grealish, and Conor Hourihane.
He stands 5’9″ and he is an insane ball-winner and progressive passer from a central midfield position. There is a good thread on the player in the tweets embedded below:
Douglas Luiz was incredible throughout the tournament, deservedly won the Golden Ball. Controlled play as the deepest midfielder while everyone else (Antony, Tabata) was either trying to find overloads on the wings or receive between the lines (Matheus Henrique, Pedrinho). https://t.co/KCFWfukqTj
— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) July 12, 2019
I knew that Luiz was a great passer , but I had no clue how good he was defensively. He made a few last-ditch interceptions against Japan in the Final, sprinting back and recovering, and he was superb at winning the ball high up and assuring Brazil kept possession ticking.
— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) July 12, 2019
Villa Verdict:
It should surprise no one that Aston Villa are in for a young, hungry central midfielder. Depth is an issue, especially at the holding midfielder position where really only Hourihane exists. Some reports mention City will negotiate a buyback clause into the transfer. It’s not ideal, but hardly the end of the world.
Should Luiz ever find his way back to Guardiola and Co., you know it went very, very well at Aston Villa. Keep your eyes open for an announcement from the club.