EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal bid 'extraordinary fee' for Douglas Luiz

Steve Kay

• 10 Nov 2023 17:32 GMT
• 3 min read

Exclusive

Arsenal already bid for Aston Villa's Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz last summer and will move for him again in January, as can be exclusively revealed by FootballTransfers' insider Steve Kay.

Arsenal rejuvenated their midfield last summer, paying a club record £100 million for West Ham's Declan Rice and £65m for Kai Havertz from Chelsea whilst allowing Granit Xhaka to leave for Bayer Leverkusen in a £21.4m deal.

But Mikel Arteta has made no secret of the fact that he envisages playing two defensive midfielders at times, and whilst Thomas Partey could provide company for the England international, he has plugged a gap at right-back more often than not this term.

READ: Thomas Partey problem behind Arsenal's third bid for Douglas Luiz

The Gunners wanted Luiz before, and they are set to move again in January with Partey continuing to be linked with a move to Juventus if not the Saudi Pro League.

'Extraordinary fee offered'

"Arsenal have already approached Villa about Luiz's availability for January," Kay told FootballTransfers. "They flat out told Arsenal there was 'no chance' of a January move happening unless an extraordinary fee was offered and Villa could find a replacement.

"Villa's league position and run in Europe have emboldened Unai Emery, who doesn't want to sell his best players."

READ: Arsenal's obstacle to MAJOR transfer revealed

Luiz is valued at €35.2m (£30.8m) by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, but it is understood Villa would hold out for significantly more for a player still under contract At Villa Park until June 2026.

Luiz has scored five goals in 11 Premier League appearances this season, three of which have been from the penalty spot.

He would presumably take compatriot Jorginho's spot in the Arsenal midfield should he make the move, with Martin Odegaard safer than Havertz as the midfielder left over with the greater licence to get forward.

Arsenal are also linked with a move for Brentford striker Ivan Toney in the winter transfer window, but would need to sell players to raise fund for bids for both he and Luiz.