Douglas Luiz is set to leave Aston Villa this summer, and somewhat surprisingly, he isn’t headed to Arsenal.
After years of links to the Gunners, Luiz is finally leaving Villa Park this summer, but he isn’t headed to the Emirates. Instead, he’s closing in on a move to Juventus.
In fact, Arsenal haven’t really been involved in the conversation around Luiz this time around.
Speaking on the Ranks FC Ultras Podcast, Dean Jones has been discussing Luiz’s departure from Villa and why Arsenal aren’t in this race, and he’s provided an explanation.
Why Arsenal aren’t in for Douglas Luiz
Jones shared what he knows about the Brazilian midfielder.
“Douglas Luiz is bizarre. You’re talking about a deal here that will see Weston McKennie and Samuel Iling-Junior come to the Premier League to join Aston Villa and Douglas Luiz go the other way and the cash involved could be under €20m, and that is so low,” Jones said.
“It all feels strange to me, I struggle to understand why Douglas Luiz would be going for such little money and why no Premier League clubs are in for him. Arsenal definitely looked at him and Man United should be looking at him.
“Perhaps one of the reasons I was told that if he was to stay in the Premier League that amount would be higher, they don’t want him to stay in the Premier League, and if that was the case Arsenal would have to pay £60m or something. It’s all very strange over at Aston Villa as they prepare for Champions League football.”
Luiz would be worth it
Luiz may have been more expensive for Arsenal at £60m, but there’s a strong case to make that he would be worth the money.
Yes, Arsenal would be paying a premium to sign the player from a Premier League rival, but sometimes that extra money is worth it.
£60m for a player like Luiz who is proven quality at Premier League level is still a good price, and, even if it is expensive, there’s a case to make that Arsenal should be all over this one.
This would be a smart signing from the Gunners if they were to get involved with some sort of late hijack.