The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath has revealed that Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz is attracting transfer interest from elsewhere.
What’s the story?
Reports in recent months had initially suggested that Premier League champions Manchester City were contemplating exercising their buy-back clause on the Brazilian, but that has not been the case.
However, now, McGrath has claimed that Serie A giants AS Roma have entered the fray, with former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho keen to lure him to Italy this summer.
Worrying news for Villa fans
Speaking last summer, The Athletic journalist Gregg Evans, said of him: “He’s an absolute joy to watch now and I never thought I would be saying that. Villa have got a fantastic player in Douglas Luiz now, he looks like an absolute star, he could have played in that Man United team.
“He was better than (Paul) Pogba, I thought. I thought he was brilliant, hardly did anything wrong, hardly put a foot wrong. He won so many interceptions and made so many important blocks. When he gets the ball, he passes it nicely. He’s the best player in that Villa team at the moment because it’s just not working for John McGinn.”
The 23-year-old has been a virtual ever-present for Villa since his arrival, making 76 appearances for the first-team and playing 33 out of the 38 Premier League games just last season.
His form even earned him international honours, picking up his first couple of senior caps for Brazil, and so it’s been no surprise that his market value has now risen to £31.5m according to Transfermarkt.
And, in a recent poll done by FFC, 73% of Villa fans who answered said that they would not sell Luiz this summer (179 votes to 66) – an indication of just how concerning it would be were the Brazilian to make the move to Roma.
McGrath’s update may have Villa fans worried at the prospect of him leaving.
Meanwhile, Matt Maher has dropped a major Aston Villa transfer update…