Arsenal are enthusiastic about a deal to convey Douglas Luiz to The Emirates within the January switch window.
What’s the discuss?
That’s in keeping with a report by The Sun, who declare that, with Mikel Arteta rising more and more involved by the injury-prone Thomas Partey, the Spaniard has as soon as once more turned his consideration in direction of the Aston Villa midfielder – for whom the Gunners noticed a £23m supply rejected through the closing levels of the summer season window.
However, the report goes on to state, with the 24-year-old’s present contract at Villa Park set to run out on the finish of the season, Edu now believes that a suggestion of £15m must be sufficient to tempt Steven Gerrard into cashing in on the Brazil worldwide – with the midfielder believed to be extraordinarily eager on the thought of a transfer north London.
Absolute steal
While it’s true that Luiz has considerably fallen out of favour beneath the administration of Gerrard this season, the argument that the previous Manchester City starlet would make an distinctive addition to Arteta’s present choices in midfield – particularly for a price within the area of £15m – is nonetheless a simple one to make.
Indeed, with Partey having missed the final nine video games of the Premier League run-in final time period as a consequence of a knock – one thing that in the end contributed to Arsenal ceding their high 4 spot – in addition to having already missed 4 fixtures this season on account of a thigh injury – it could seem a sensible transfer to herald larger depth in defensive midfield.
And, contemplating how spectacular Luiz was within the Premier League for Villa final day trip, the 24-year-old would very a lot look to be a super candidate to come back in and instantly strengthen Arteta’s squad.
Indeed, over his 34 league fixtures in 2021/22, the £31.5m-rated expertise extremely impressed in metrics typical of his defensively-minded place in the midst of the pitch, making a mean of 1.7 tackles, one interception, 37.7 passes – at a hit charge of 87% – and gained 4.4 duels per recreation.
The £32k-per-week expertise additionally chipped in for Villa going forwards, bagging two targets, offering three assists and creating three huge possibilities for his teammates, in addition to taking a mean of 0.7 photographs, making 1.1 key passes and finishing 0.7 dribbles per fixture.
These returns noticed the participant who Ty Bracey dubbed “unreal” common a SofaScore match ranking of 6.89, rating him as Gerrard’s ninth-best performer within the league final day trip – enjoying a key position in Villa securing a cushty mid-table end.
As such, contemplating his strong shows in the midst of the park, his potential for future improvement and the actual fact the Brazilian at present boasts a market worth of £16.5m greater than Arsenal’s deliberate supply, ought to Edu handle to get a £15m deal over the road for Luiz this January it could undoubtedly characterize an absolute steal for the Gunners.