Arsenal face a slim window to sign Douglas Luiz as Juventus near an agreement with Aston Villa, and have learned how Monchi truly feels on his transfer to the Gunners.
The Gunners have coveted the prospect of Luiz switching Birmingham for north London with Mikel Arteta determined to strengthen their midfield. Arsenal will back their manager’s plan in the summer market, too, as they strive to go one better and win the Premier League title.
Arteta believes Arsenal need another elite talent in his engine room to go from runners-up to champions next season. The Gunners ended a second successive campaign one spot from Manchester City in 2023/24 following the arrival of Declan Rice for a club-record sum in July.
Aston Villa chief Monchi does not want to sell Douglas Luiz to Arsenal
Rice and captain Martin Odegaard were instrumental for Arsenal’s efforts in 23/24, so Arteta has targeted Luiz’s transfer from Aston Villa to complete the core. But TuttoJuve reports that Juventus are due to win the race for the 26-year-old, despite the Gunners’ continued efforts.
Arteta viewed Luiz as Arsenal’s top midfield target but Aston Villa are set to accept a player-plus-cash offer from Juventus. The Bianconeri will buy Luiz before the end of June so the Villans avoid breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) before selling two stars to them.
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Weston McKennie and Samuel Iling-Junior are primed to switch Turin for Birmingham in two separate deals once Juventus finish Luiz’s move. The Serie A squad also held an advantage in the race over Arsenal as Aston Villa chief Monchi refused to strengthen a direct rival club.
Monchi believes Aston Villa will be competing with Arsenal for the top places in the 2024/25 Premier League season. Unai Emery led the Villans to fourth place this term and secured the club’s return to the Champions League. Villa were last in UEFA’s top tournament in 1982/83.
Juventus have an agreement with Douglas Luiz for his contract in Turin
Losing Luiz will hurt Aston Villa’s hopes of repeating their top-four finish, and Mochi would especially hate seeing him help Arsenal thrive by granting any transfer to Emirates Stadium. The 15-cap Brazil star just scored nine and assisted five goals in 35 Premier League outings.
Arsenal do still have a slim window to convince Monchi to change his stance on selling Luiz to Arteta’s team. But Gunners sporting director Edu will have to move very fast to tempt his opposite number. There is now very little in the way of Luiz securing a transfer to Juventus.
Aston Villa and Juventus are close to finalising their agreement for Luiz’s transfer with Iling-Junior and McKennie heading in the opposite direction. Tuttosport notes that the total sum of the operation will sit at €60m (£51m), with Luiz also agreeing to sign a four-year contract.
Luiz will earn €5m-a-year (£81.5k-a/w) net, including bonuses, in Turin but Arsenal still have a window to deny Juventus his transfer. Aston Villa are still to convince Iling-Junior to join as he seeks assurances over his game time. McKennie welcomes the chance to join Aston Villa.