Aston Villa have not had the best start to their latest Premier League season in terms of the results they have racked up so far. With seven games played, Steven Gerrard’s side have won two, drawn one and lost four.
While things on the pitch haven’t always gone their way, it seems as though the Midlands club could also be heading for a potential disaster behind-the-scenes which may well have an impact on how the rest of their season goes.
What’s the news?
According to a recent report from The Sun, Arsenal are once again plotting to sign Douglas Luiz in the upcoming January transfer window after being knocked back by the Villans on the final day of the recent summer window.
It was previously reported that Villa rejected a third bid of £25m from the Gunners for the Brazilian on deadline day. However, this latest report claims that the north London club will only look to offer £15m for the midfielder this time around.
Selling for £15m would be calamitous
With 118 appearances at Villa Park to his name, Luiz – who has been hailed as an “unreal” player in the past by Ty Bracey – has scored seven goals and delivered eight assists in the process.
Last season saw the 24-year-old feature in 34 league games for his current club, earning himself an overall performance rating of 6.77/10 from WhoScored. That makes him the fourth-highest rated player at Villa to have started more than 30 matches in the campaign.
Given how important Luiz has proven to be for Villa in terms of his reliability and performance levels, losing him in January would surely be a big blow for the club and for Steven Gerrard.
Even though his contract is set to expire at the end of the current season, if the Villans were to sell him to Arsenal in January for a lesser amount than what they could have banked for him in August, this will not be a good look for the club’s hierarchy from a financial point of view.
If Luiz does want to leave Villa in January, as has been reported in some quarters, the club should do all they can to get as much money for him as possible rather than risk seeing him leave as a free agent in the summer.
