Aston Villa have confirmed that Douglas Luiz has left the club to join Juventus, in a deal reportedly worth €28m plus Samuel Iling Jr and Enzo Barrenechea.
Luiz, 26, joined us from Manchester City in July 2019, and having since gone on to make 204 appearances for the club, scoring 22 goals and providing 24 assists in those outings, he firmly established himself as a pivotal figure for us.
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However, amid PSR concerns this summer, Villa have ultimately had to make a key sacrifice before the end of June in order to balance our books and avoid the risk of a sanction, and it’s the Brazilian international who has moved on.
As per the club’s official statement, Luiz has now joined Juventus, and he follows Tim Iroegbunam and Omari Kellyman in leaving the club over the past fortnight as we create space in the squad and give ourselves financial flexibility moving forward to now try and continue to strengthen Unai Emery’s squad.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Juventus will pay €50m in four instalments as per the agreed terms of the transfer, while both Iling Jr and Barrenechea will arrive at Villa in a separate deal, with their valuation put at €22m in total.
That in turn means Villa have received €28m and two top young talents in exchange for Luiz, and although it’s obviously a massive blow and disappointment to lose an influential player, it’s hoped that the deal ultimately proves to be an astute bit of business from the club in the long run.
Luiz had two years remaining on his contract with Villa, and so this was arguably the best time to sell him to maximise his value, and although Barrenechea will look to help fill that void, the expectation is that we’ll identify and sign a more direct replacement to bolster our midfield options moving forward.
Given the Brazilian midfielder’s ability to control tempo and possession, Emery will surely look for a player with a similar profile who is perhaps more effective and consistent in carrying out his instructions in that area of the pitch, and so while we wish ‘Dougie’ the best of luck going forward, the focus now is on who will arrive to replace him.
