Manchester City have agreed on a £10.7m fee for Brazilian wonder-kid Douglas Luiz. The under-20 Brazil international was being scouted for over a year now and The Citizens have decided to sanction a deal for Luiz, who is understood to be sent on a season-long loan to Spanish club Girona. The move to Girona is understandable as Manchester City are on the verge of buying a 50 per cent stake in the club.
City boast a strong scouting network in Brazil, as is evident from their moves in the transfer market, having unveiled Gabriel Jesus from Palmeiras a year earlier, who has turned out to be a phenomenal success already, all of 20 years.
Unlike Jesus, who secured a £27m move to the Etihad, the Vasco de Gama midfielder was a relatively obscure quantity up until his transfer to City.
Growing up in a poor neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro, Luiz joined Vasco’s youth setup as a 15-year-old. His rise to the club’s senior team was quick owing to his quality on the ball which was conspicuous, to say the least. Amidst Brazil’s flair players swearing their allegiance to the Samba style, Luiz stands out courtesy of his defending attributes. The Brazilian could flourish as a quintessential box-to-box midfielder à la Ramires or Paulinho, before his brief spell at Tottenham, among his compatriots.
Boasting a good vision, replete with a good passing range both long and short, the 19-year-old can take up more advanced positions on the field and could really make a name for himself as a classic No.10 in the mould of Zico. Luiz’s short stature doesn’t do him any favours when it comes to aerial duels and in more physical leagues like the English Premier League, he could be hopelessly caught out with opponents capitalising on this weakness with long ball techniques for a forward player to run on to.
The midfielder has a good opportunity to establish himself in a club like Girona without an inherent pressure of winning silverware and could be slowly developed into a finished product to start alongside the likes of Gabriel Jesus. Though not as obviously talented as his compatriot, Luiz has to develop his footballing brain besides his skill to compensate for his height or the lack of it.
Set to ply his trade in the La Liga, he can take inspiration from a certain diminutive Argentinian standing at 5ft 6in; 4 inches shorter than Luiz.
If everything falls in place, Manchester City could have a gem on their hands in a couple of seasons.
