Douglas Luiz may have given his clearest indication whether he will complete Aston Villa exit
Aston Villa have it all to play for between now and the end of the season as they look to cap off an excellent season under Unai Emery.
The Villans could book their place in the Champions League and still lift European silverware having booked their place in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals with some remarkable displays under the Spaniard.
One man who has been key to that success has been Douglas Luiz, but some pundits have suggested that the Brazilian could be set to leave Villa Park this summer having attracted interest from some of England and Europe’s biggest sides.
However, the former Manchester City man may have dropped his biggest hint that he is staying in the Midlands after admitting this is “just the start” of a new chapter in his Villa career.
As quoted by Birmingham Live’s John Towley on Tuesday (9 April) he said: “Personally, I’m very happy with it all and I think it’s just the start of a new chapter. As I always say, Aston Villa is a huge club.”
Will Aston Villa keep Douglas Luiz amid growing transfer interest?
While Ollie Watkins has stolen the majority of the plaudits at Villa Park this season, Luiz has arguably been just as important to the Villans’ success having scored nine goals and provided five assists in 31 league games, according to Fotmob.
Few midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues this season have been as effective in the final third of the pitch than Villa’s number six who has posed a goal threat week in and week out in the league.
When compared to his peers in Europe’s top five leagues in the last year, Luiz places in the 93rd percentile for non-penalty goals scored per 90 minutes, with an average of 0.21, according to Fbref.
On top of that, the Brazilian sits in the top 15 per cent of midfielders for expected assisted goals per 90 minutes with an average of 0.29 and the 85th percentile for shot-creating actions a game with an average of 3.6 a match.
In Villa’s last Premier League win over Wolves, the 25-year-old completed 86 per cent of his 43 attempted passes, creating a single goal-scoring chance with one of his four passes into the final third of the pitch.
On the ball has been where Luiz has flourished the most and against Gary O’Neil’s side the midfielder completed two of his three attempted dribbles and found a teammate with 67 per cent of his attempted long balls.
Off the ball, Luiz was just as effective, winning one tackle, and registering five ball recoveries while also winning 50 per cent of 14 duels. On top of that, he managed to win three free-kicks as he repeatedly beat his opposite number to the ball.
Will Villa and Unai Emery qualify for the Champions League?
Qualifying for the Champions League will almost certainly make it easier for Villa to keep Luiz at Villa Park beyond the end of the season, but it does seem as though the 25-year-old is more than happy where he is in his career.
Hopefully, that will remain the case even if bids begin to arrive for the midfielder come the end of the season. Keeping him at Villa Park would massively boost Villa’s chances of building on this season’s success.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery has been tipped to consider selling Tim Iroegbunam amid growing interest from Ajax
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