In a recent interview with Give Me Sport, journalist Ben Jacobs stated that Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz is on the radar of Liverpool this summer. Jacobs said,
“Yeah, Douglas Luiz is a name that has been discussed internally by Liverpool. I’m not aware of any movement at this point.
“I think that it’s crystal clear that Liverpool wants to add between now and the end of the window if the right name becomes available. I would still keep an eye on Ryan Gravenberch because that’s a long-standing Liverpool target and the player is keen on the move. It’s just a case of Bayern insisting they don’t want to sell and we wait and see towards the end of the window whether anything changes there. I think from Liverpool’s point of view as well, because they put that £111m down unsuccessfully for Moises Caicedo, they’ve sent a message out to the market that they’ve got big money to spend.”
Luiz’s Impressive Form At Villa Park Last Season
Luiz enjoyed a solid campaign at the West Midlands club as he was responsible for putting in several influential displays for them at the centre of the park. The Brazilian midfield ace was involved in 40 matches for Aston Villa last season, scoring seven goals and earning six assists across multiple competitions.
The 25-year-old was a decent performer in both halves and deserves credit for averaging 2.0 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, 0.6 clearances, 0.9 shots, 1.2 key passes and 0.6 dribbles per game in the Premier League. He was even careful when distributing possession from midfield after making 86.4% of his attempted passes in the English top tier (stats via whoscored).
Can Aston Villa Boss Unai Emery Afford To Lose Luiz This Summer?
Luiz is a solid tackler of the ball and can scan the danger quickly to make a few timely interceptions for his team in the middle of the park. He usually puts his foot through the ball when needed and is also a tidy passer of the ball.
The Brazilian talent can even shoot the ball with power and accuracy from long range and remains an energetic dribbler with the ball at his feet.
Hence, it is no surprise that Luiz is attracting interest from Liverpool. However, Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery simply cannot afford to lose him this summer as he remains one of the most important members of his match-day squad.
Luiz is under contract at Villa Park until 2026. Hence, Emery should not entertain any offers for the player, especially this late in the transfer window.