Why key Villa man signing new contract is crucial boost after more cynical viewpoint

Aston Villa have confirmed that Douglas Luiz has signed a new long-term contract, ending concerns over his previous deal which was set to expire next summer.

As per the club’s statement, Luiz has put pen to paper on a new long-term agreement, albeit they have not officially confirmed how long it will run until.

Regardless, given that the 24-year-old was set to become a free agent next summer with his previous contract set to expire, it was important that the two parties reached a new deal following significant speculation over his future in the previous transfer window.

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According to Fabrizio Romano, Luiz’s new contract is valid until June 2026, and so given the length of the contract, that would signal an intention from his part that he is committed for the long-term future.

“I’m so happy,” Luiz told VillaTV. “I’m so happy in this club and I love this club. I love the people here, the staff and the players. I’m so comfortable here and I’m so happy.

“I love this club. This club opened the door for me when I came to England to play in the Premier League. I’m so happy because I’m staying here and my choice is here.”

Long-term Luiz-Villa commitment or more cynical view?

In an ideal situation, given the length of the new contract and the comments from Luiz above, it seems as though he has now committed his long-term future and his intention is to stay at the club after plenty of speculation suggesting otherwise in the back end of the summer transfer window.

While we must play him in a more advanced midfield role and allow him to be more influential further up the pitch in an attacking sense, instead of burdening him with a defensive role in front of the backline, Luiz has an important part to play for Villa moving forward given the technical quality and creative ability that he possesses, which seem largely unique to him among our midfield options.

With that in mind, having rebuffed offers for him in the summer and having now reached an agreement on a long-term deal, the signs are all positive in terms of the intention and commitment from both sides on how important Luiz is to our plans moving forward.

Another view, which perhaps carried more weight before the quotes above circulated and the length of the deal was speculated, is that this was always a shrewd and sensible bit of business from Villa to strengthen our position in any potential future sale talks.

It’s much easier to demand a hefty price-tag when the player in question has four years remaining on his contract as opposed to being on the cusp of becoming a free agent, and so Villa can certainly now demand much more if interested parties come knocking again in January or beyond.

In that sense, the club should be commended for covering that potential outcome if that was the aim as a baseline as it just makes business sense, but naturally from their actions with Luiz dating back to the summer, it’s clear that we have no intention to see him leave and instead we consider him a fundamental part of our squad.

Time will tell just how influential he will go on to be this season and beyond as we await a possible tweak from Gerrard to the Villa XI to allow the Brazilian international to play further upfield, but for now, news of his contract extension is undoubtedly a welcome boost and will hopefully give all concerned a lift as we continue to try and scrap our way into better form.

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