According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal are interested in signing Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz.
The Brazilian international has been with Villa since 2019 and over the years, the midfielder has become an integral part of the team. This season, he’s started very strongly under Unai Emery, scoring three goals in eight Premier League games.
Luiz signed a contract extension last year that is going to keep him at Villa Park until 2026 but he’s been on Arsenal’s radar for some time and Romano believes the Gunners will try and sign him next year.
Arsenal had failed to sign the 25-year-old in 2022 and it looks like Mikel Arteta is set to reignite his club’s interest in the coming months.
The North London side spent a massive amount to sign Declan Rice in the summer but they still need to strengthen their midfield because Thomas Partey has become injury-prone while Jorginho hasn’t been a success since his move from Chelsea.
Right now, Declan Rice and Odegaard are the only two world-class midfielders in the Arsenal squad who are consistently performing which is why Mikel Arteta wants to bring in someone like Douglas Luiz.
Douglas Luiz is currently valued at €55 million but because his contract expires in 2026, Aston Villa will not accept anything less than €75-80 million for the midfielder.
As per the rumours, Arsenal want to sign the Brazilian during the January transfer window but this will be really hard to achieve because Villa won’t be keen to let such an important player leave during the middle of the campaign.
Villa’s stance in this regard is yet to come to the forefront but if Arsenal do come calling Unai Emery will find it hard to hold onto him.
The 25-year-old will surely want to join a team like Arsenal who are challenging for the EPL title but the Gunners will have to be ready to shell out a lot of money to land Luiz.
We are sure Arteta is planning to get rid of Thomas Partey within the next year and if the Ghanian is on his way out, Douglas Luiz can be the perfect long-term replacement. Players like Elneny and Fabio Vieira are not worthy enough to partner Declan Rice in central midfield which is why the Gunners have to go out and spend money on another CDM in January.
