Aston Villa are now ready to sign a “sensational” £42m midfielder on a loan deal, as he has been made available by his current club, according to a report.
Villa still in the race for the Champions League
Villa have failed to hit the heights of last season, but they are still very much in the race for the Champions League, currently sitting just six points behind fourth-placed Chelsea as we enter the second half of the campaign. In order to aid the Villans’ top four push and ongoing Champions League campaign, however, Unai Emery is looking at making a number of additions during the January transfer window.
Borussia Dortmund’s Donyell Malen is one of Emery’s main targets, and it appears as though the forward is keen on the move to Villa Park, having now verbally agreed to join.
Not only is Emery keen on strengthening in attack, but he is also weighing up his options in defence, and the Villans are now lining up a move for Celta Vigo defender Oscar Mingueza, who has a release clause of £16.5m in his contract.
Back in the summer, one of the big disappointments for Villa was the fact they had to sell Douglas Luiz to Juventus, but a new report from The Boot Room has detailed the midfielder could be on his way back to England.
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Aston Villa’s upcoming Premier League fixtures |
Date |
|
Everton (a) |
January 15th |
|
Arsenal (a) |
January 18th |
|
West Ham United (h) |
January 26th |
|
Wolverhampton Wanderers (a) |
February 1st |
|
Ipswich Town (h) |
February 15th |
Villa are now ready to re-sign Luiz on a loan deal, with Juventus willing to sanction the midfielder’s departure this month, as he has failed to impress since completing a move to the Allianz Stadium.
The Italian club are looking to sell the Brazilian, who they paid £42m for, on a loan-to-buy deal, but it is deemed unlikely that an agreement of that nature will be possible this month.
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He came through Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy.
Luiz deal could make sense for all parties
Juventus clearly have no intention of keeping hold of the 26-year-old, and he has already proven himself at Villa Park, so a deal could make sense for all parties. Even though his move to the Serie A has not worked out, the central midfielder received high praise from members of the media during his time in the Midlands.
The Brazil international was rated Villa’s second-best performer in the Premier League last season, averaging a 7.27 match rating as they secured their spot in the Champions League.
As such, if Luiz is able to perform at a similar level for the Villans during the rest of the current campaign, he could be a real boost to their chances of reaching Europe’s elite competition for the second season on the bounce.