Juventus won’t be able to sign Aston Villa ace Douglas Luiz in January – report
Aston Villa have been handed a boost in their aim to keep Douglas Luiz this season after it emerged Juventus won’t be able to sign him in January.
The Brazilian midfielder was linked with a transfer away this summer, with three deadline day bids from Arsenal rejected as the Villans made the decision to keep him.
But after being linked with a move to Italian giants Juventus too there was a chance they could return to try and get a cut-price deal before his contract expires in the summer, however it’s now emerged via Calciomercato that they won’t be able to sign him as they have no non-EU slots left.
Juventus signed Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes from Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the summer, meaning their three slots are now occupied by Paredes, Alex Sandro and Weston McKennie.
With league rules stating that players leaving doesn’t affect the number until the following summer, Luiz would be unable to sign with them although AC Milan are also interested as are Arsenal, Liverpool and AS Roma.
Ideal
Luiz had reportedly been close to agreeing a new three-year deal with Villa earlier in the summer only for him to not start the first few games of the season and feel a move away could be better for him.
The player reportedly pushed for a move to Arsenal, only for Villa to stand firm in their stance of not losing him so close to the deadline and a deal never materialised.
Reports in Brazil claim that he has made the decision to leave Villa and stay in the Premier League on a free transfer, but there is still hope that the club can convince him to put pen to paper and be an important part of the squad going forward.
With Juventus out of the picture until the summer for a deal, that’s one less party the club has to worry about dealing with and potentially losing him for the second half of the season.
In other Aston Villa news, Emiliano Martinez’s form is a cause for concern for Steven Gerrard