Aston Villa were open to selling midfielder Douglas Luiz over the summer, according to The Athletic’s Gregg Evans.
The Lowdown: Luiz links
Villa made a number of big-money signings over the summer but failed to add to their central midfield ranks. They also sold Jack Grealish to Manchester City for £100m, and it appears as if Luiz was also regarded as a possible departure by the Villa hierarchy.
He won Olympic gold with Brazil over the summer and was linked with moves to Manchester City and AS Roma, but as we now know, the £52,000-a-week man remained in the Midlands and has been a regular in recent weeks.
The Latest: Evans’ claim
Evans shared a story on The Athletic on Wednesday, looking at Villa’s new 3-5-2 formation. He suggested that the club were open to moving Luiz on in the recent window for the right price, but there wasn’t enough interest.
Evans then added that Dean Smith welcomed the Brazilian back to Bodymoor Heath with a presentation to celebrate his success at the Olympics along with the Villa squad.
The Verdict: A close shave
As Evans mentioned later in the article, Luiz has been an unsung hero in Villa’s wins over Everton and Manchester United, so Villa have been lucky to keep him at the club.
A midfield three of him, John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey has worked effectively in Smith’s new system, and with Villa’s lack of depth in midfield, parting ways with the 23-year-old could have been a costly mistake.
Roma are still linked with Luiz, so it’ll be interesting to see what Villa’s stance is in the New Year.
In other news: ‘Believe it or not’ – Preece shares worrying under-the-radar update on Villa ace who Smith loves.