Juventus to offer ex-Premier League star in exchange for Luiz
FT Desk
- 8 Sept 2022 11:00 BST
- 3 min read
Arsenal will face competition in trying to acquire Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa in January, with Juventus poised to crash the deal with an offer of their own.
Luiz was identified as a key target for Arsenal this summer after they were priced out of a move for Leicester's Youri Tielemans, but with deadline day approaching Aston Villa slapped a €46 million transfer fee on the Brazilian, who is out of contract next summer.
"I have confidence that he'll understand the situation and the club's decision that we didn't want to lose a very important player and a top player so late in the window," explained Villa manager Steve Gerrard.
Arsenal were quoted €46 million by Aston Villa for Douglas Luiz 👀https://t.co/VeDaz0daYJ
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) September 4, 2022
"From a personal point of view, I very much back the club's decision and stance on that. I spoke to Dougie yesterday on that and he understood where it was at and the position that the club was in and very much respects the decision."
With more time to source a replacement, the Gunners will hope that Luiz might be available for a more reasonable fee in January, but Juventus haver a plan of their own up their sleeves.
Kean to make a deal
Moise Kean is back at club on a two-year loan from Everton, and Juve have the option to make the move permanent for €31m. Although he has not performed in his second Serie A stint, the Old Lady could still pay up, according to JuveLive.
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The striker would then immediately be offered to Villa in part-exchange for Luiz. Villa might simply prefer the cash from Arsenal, but if Juve's offer was Kean plus a remaining balance, they could be onto something.
Kean scored 19 goals in all competitions with Paris Saint-Germain as recently as the 2020/21 season and he is already familiar with the Premier League having spent the 2019/20 campaign in England with Everton.
