Credit: Imago

Max Wilkins

Sat 25 April 2026 17:10, UK

Aston Villa have seemingly made up their mind on the future of Douglas Luiz.

The Brazil international returned to Villa Park in January as Unai Emery went in search of midfield reinforcements.

That was certainly necessary after Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans all picked up injuries.

The latter two have since returned and have made a telling impact, leaving the Juventus loanee to free-fall down the pecking order.

Luiz remained on the bench for Villa against Fulham as the starting XI selection spoke volumes about the midfielder’s future.

Unai Emery picked Lamare Bogarde to start vs Fulham

There was a frustrating surprise waiting for the Villans when their team sheet was named at Craven Cottage as Amadou Onana missed out.

The Belgian picked up an injury in training and left the claret and blue outfit with one of their most important players of the past two seasons.

After losing an experienced head in the middle of the park, Emery opted to bring in Lamare Bogarde ahead of Luiz.

The 22-year-old didn’t make good on that show of faith as he lasted just 74 minutes before being removed.

He won just one of his six attempted duels and contributed just two defensive actions in a 1-0 defeat in the capital.

Luiz eventually came on, but Emery’s decision speaks volumes as Villa fell to defeat against Fulham in a disappointing outing.

Douglas Luiz is done at Aston Villa

The midfielder on loan from Juventus has 219 appearances under his belt in claret and blue, but watched on from the start once again.

Since returning to B6, he has started just six Premier League games and hasn’t truly made the same positive impression as his first spell.

That frustration only continued against Fulham as he was afforded just 16 minutes of action at Craven Cottage and did very little of note.

He contributed just one defensive action and won just 28 per cent of his attempted duels, which won’t go down well with Emery.

That sums up his problems in the Midlands, and heading into the summer, Luiz looks increasingly likely to depart Villa Park without a whimper.