Aston Villa officials are resigned to losing Douglas Luiz in the summer, according to a report from AS Roma Live.
The Lowdown: February struggles
Villa turned down three bids for the Brazilian last month, one of which came on deadline day.
Luiz has played every minute of action against both Leeds and Newcastle this month but hasn’t exactly impressed.
Gregg Evans labelled the 23-year-old as ‘terrible’ for his role in one of Leeds’ goals in a 3-3 draw, whereas Ashley Preece also slammed Luiz for his display in the defeat at St James’ Park.
The Latest: Summer departure?
As reported by AS Roma Live, Villa turned down €30m (£25m) offers from both Arsenal and Tottenham for Luiz last month but are now resigned to losing him in the summer.
The feeling at Villa Park is that the end of the season will be the right time to sell, with Steven Gerrard’s main objective to sign a new midfielder ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
The Verdict: Missed opportunity?
Luiz will be entering the last 12 months of his contract in the summer, so it seems as if NSWE have missed their prime opportunity to get the best deal for the midfielder.
Should his situation remain the same, Villa may not have multiple £25m offers to which they’ll need to respond. That figure could be considerably lower, so in hindsight perhaps Villa should have cashed in during the January transfer window.
Marvelous Nakamba’s long-term injury and the failure to sign a midfielder could have contributed to Villa’s decision, but Luiz’s future looks set to be a talking point once again in the summer.
In other news: ‘I’ve been told…’ – Ashley Preece now drops major Villa transfer update with Gerrard ‘fuming’.