Douglas Luiz ‘to re-sign for Aston Villa’ after £21m+ transfer news – Exclusive

Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz is in line to make a sensational return to Aston Villa this summer.

Luiz left Villa last summer to join Juventus for a reported £42million, but has struggled to settle in Italy.

Through a mix of various injury issues and loss of form, the Brazilian managed just three starts in Serie A last season and has been on the receiving end of plenty of criticism for his performances.

With Unai Emery resigned to losing some of his star players this summer to balance the books, the Spaniard could look to exploit Luiz’s desperate situation with the Old Lady and bring him back to Villa.

Juventus open to selling Luiz this summer

As reported by Calciomercato (23 June), Juventus are looking to sell Luiz and have set an asking price of around £21m for the defensive midfielder.

The Italian giants are hoping their low asking price triggers a bidding war for the 27-year-old, with Crystal Palace showing an early interest.

Luiz’s statistics over the last two seasons

Emery managed to get the best out of his former player, and could require midfield reinforcements with Boubacar Kamara at risk of being sold to combat PSR issues.

Luiz’s wage demands could be a sticking point, but it is possible that his good relations with Villa could see him accept a slightly lower salary to greenlight a return to the Premier League.

And ex-Villa scout Bryan King – speaking exclusively to Villa News – believes that the Villans could re-sign Luiz, especially given Juventus’ low asking price.

“I think Villa could look to bring him back,” King said.

“Why not? I think he would have been kept at the club anyway had Villa not needed the money. He hasn’t settled in well at Juventus, and it might not hurt Luiz to make a Villa return.

“They would basically be getting him for half price after selling him previously.”

Luiz could excel at Villa again

Football history shows that, more often than not, bringing a popular player back to a club does not work out as intended, as the expectations of former glories are rarely met.

However, Luiz would likely be an exception. The Brazil international is still in his prime and would be returning to work under the same manager.

He would also walk into a midfield that now boasts Amadou Onana, allowing Luiz to have an even more attacking role, which could give him the platform to become one of the Premier League’s most exciting midfielders.