Aston Villa may need to open chequebook again to keep vultures at bay after Douglas Luiz puts in 94% showing v Spurs
Douglas Luiz saw his stock rise at Aston Villa once again with a star turn as Unai Emery’s side came from behind to defeat Tottenham 2-1 on Sunday (26 November).
The bad news for the Villans is that the Brazil star’s performances this season are starting to attract the attention’s of the Premier League’s big hitters, with 90.min reporting on Monday that Liverpool, Arsenal and former club Manchester City are all interested in the midfielder.
The good news, the same report says that Villa will not entertain any offers for him in January, and nor should they considering a tilt at Champions League football is a very realistic prospect with the win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium leaving them fourth.
But it does beg the question do Villa, who tied Douglas Luiz to a new deal until 2026 back in October 2022, need to get the chequebook open again to incentivise him to stay long-term and keep the vultures at bay.
Against Spurs, in stats provided by SofaScore, the 25-year-old had a 94 per cent pass accuracy rate, the highest among Villa players and only beaten by Emerson Royal on the opposition side (97 per cent).
In addition, he made two passes, one of which created a big chance for his side, while five of his six long passes were accurate.
He also made three tackles and completed two interceptions to help do the dirty work defensively as well.
It was the continuation of a theme for Douglas Luiz this season and frankly there is little surprise that the big boys want to steal him from Emery’s ranks.
There appears little immediate threat of an exit, but considering he will be two years away from the end of his deal in June, Villa should definitely be contemplating offering a new bumper deal.
In other Aston Villa news, why Emery may have no choice to axe Matty Cash after his showing versus Spurs.