View: Aston Villa made a mistake not selling Douglas Luiz
Aston Villa could have decided to sell Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz over the summer but they opted to keep him in the Midlands.
The 24-year-old, who joined the Villans from Manchester City, was the subject of a £20million bid late in the transfer window from Atletico Madrid, according to The Telegraph, but they did not accept it.
Steven Gerrard was keen to keep him at Villa Park beyond the closure of the transfer window and had tried to make him sign a new deal with the club but he refused.
Instead, Luiz wants to leave Aston Villa on a free transfer, as reported by Bruno Andrade (6 September), which would be a disaster for the club.
They could have had £20million in their back pocket for someone who is set to see their contract expire in the summer, as per Transfer Markt, but they have instead decided to keep him and lose him for nothing.
Gerrard could yet pull off a masterstroke by twisting his arm into signing a new deal, even if it is only a couple of years, but it is obvious that Luiz wants to play in European competitions as soon as possible.
He had the chance to make it happen with Atletico but Villa denied him that opportunity and you can’t see why he would sign an extended deal in the Premier League anymore.
With Boubacar Kamara signing on a free transfer from Marseille in the summer, Gerrard might not even see Luiz as his first choice in defensive midfield so who knows what was going through his head when he decided that he wanted to keep him.
In other Aston Villa news, Richard Keys has been singing the praises of one Villan who has proven his many critics wrong, including his manager.