Aston Villa acquire Douglas Luiz from Manchester City, pending work permit

Douglas Luiz headlines Aston Villa’s tenth signing of the summer. The Manchester City midfielder arrives for a cool £15 million.

The highly-rated Douglas Luiz became Villa’s tenth signing of the summer transfer window after a move from Manchester City finalized. For a reported £15 million, Dean Smith got a much-needed midfield destroyer after the departures of Glenn Whelan and Mile Jedinak left the club quite light.

The official Villa Twitter account announced the move, pending a successful work permit application.

Luiz adds a skill set different from incumbent midfielders Jack Grealish, John McGinn, and Conor Hourihane:

Luiz, 21, spent the prior two seasons on-loan at La Liga side Girona after signing for the Citizens back in 2017 from Brazil. Because the player was denied a work permit as a then-19-year-old, he was forced to play in Spain for development, much to the annoyance of City manager Pep Guardiola. There, Luiz made 46 appearances across all competitions, playing very well amid numerous small muscular injuries.

He recovered from a pair of thigh problems in the spring, however, as Luiz was named Player of the Tournament at the prestigious Toulon Tournament earlier last month.

In order to get the deal over the line, Aston Villa had to settle for a City buyback clause in the contract. It’s not ideal (reported £25 million next summer, £30 million the following), but if Luiz is ever in a position to play a role at the world’s most-talented club, one has to assume things went very, very well for club and player.

With Villa closing on Zimbabwean midfielder Marvelous Nakamba from Club Brugge, it seems as though business is close to finished with a week-and-a-half before Spurs. The aforementioned Grealish, McGinn, Hourihane, Luiz and Nakamba form a diverse, young, and athletic midfield. Good things coming! UTV.