According to the latest reports from Birmingham Live, Aston Villa are closing in on the £15m capture of Manchester City’s youngster Douglas Luiz. We think that Brazil’s u-23 international is being seen as a cheaper alternative to Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips, who attracted a lot of interest from the Villans.
The 21-year-old midfielder signed for Manchester City in 2017, but he has spent the last two seasons on loan with La Liga outfit Girona. Reports mention that Villa’s bosses are expecting no issues and are hoping to complete the transfer in the next few days.
Villa reporter for Birmingham Live Ashley Preece recently said, “I was told he flew back home after holding talks, discussing terms and future plans. Deal obviously all good to go, down to player now I believe.”
It seems like Villa are already in an advanced stage of talks for the midfielder and Dean Smith will finally manage to get a player for a crucial position.
Why Villa need a midfielder?
The club recently parted ways with Mile Jedinak and Glen Whelan as their contracts had expired. Therefore that left a bit of void in midfield for Dean Smith. He has been on the lookout for a defensive-minded midfielder since then. It seems like his search is soon going to come to an end with the signing of Luiz.
What will Luiz bring to the table?
The 21-year-old managed to make 38 appearances in the La Luga for Girona. Luiz wasn’t a regular, but his top-flight experience would come in handy. The midfielder is known for his passing abilities and his composure on the ball. He put in some eye-catching displays for Girona and now all he needs to do is to put in some consistent performances. There is no doubt that with more game time, the Brazilian is going to improve further.
Luiz can control the tempo of the game from deep areas, and he can play some wonderful diagonals from midfield. Defensively too, the midfielder can hold his own as he can go into some good tackles. However, the challenge of the Premier League will test him, and the Villans should be patient with the Brazilian initially.
We think that the midfielder could have played for City in the last two seasons, but the player had some work permit issues. There is no doubt that City rate him highly and Villa will get a top-class option for the midfield position. His versatility to play in a box to box role or even in an advanced area as an attacking midfielder will come in handy for Dean Smith.
