Aston Villa are reportedly edging closer to completing a deal with Juventus involving the exchange of Douglas Luiz, Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling Jr.
Speculation has been rife for a few weeks now that Luiz will be departing this summer, with Villa in talks with Juventus to reach an agreement on a suitable package for the Brazilian international.
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While it’s undoubtedly a blow to lose him given how influential he has been for us, particularly since Unai Emery took charge, PSR pressure has seemingly forced us into selling one of our key players in this transfer window, and it appears as though Luiz was a sacrifice that the club were willing to make.
It was imperative though that we got a good deal out of his exit, and with Villa expected to receive €28m, Barrenechea and Iling Jr in return for Luiz, it will hopefully give us increased spending power moving forward while adding vital competition and depth to the squad too.
According to Fabrizio Romano, we could be on the verge of seeing the deal wrapped up and announced now, as both Barrenechea and Iling Jr are set to undergo the second part of their respective medicals on Wednesday, while Luiz will go through his assessment at Brazil’s training camp as he continues to participate in the Copa America.
Given the transfer saga has rumbled on for some time now, there will be relief once it has been officially announced, as it will hopefully allow Villa to continue to focus on bringing in further reinforcements this summer to strengthen Emery’s squad.
The Villa boss will no doubt relish the opportunity to work with and develop two more top young talents though, and it will be fascinating to see what the club have seen in Barrenechea and Iling Jr to give them confidence that they will be great fits for our squad.
Nevertheless, the expectation is that Villa will still move to sign another midfielder this summer given the decision to sell Tim Iroegbunam to Everton too, and hopefully with our PSR concerns allayed, we’ll have the ability to bring in a top-class player to fill the void that Luiz leaves behind.
