Alisha Lehmann to join Juventus in crazy Douglas Luiz swap deal

Tom Weber

• Updated: 15 Jun 2024 21:47 BST
• 3 min read

The bizarre swap deal between Aston Villa and Juventus of three men's players will also involve women's football superstar Alisha Lehmann, according to Italian media.

Over the past week, talks between Champions League-bound Aston Villa and Italian giants Juventus regarding the potential transfer of Douglas Luiz have been making significant progress.

Villa are trying to raise funds to comply with Financial Fair Play and Profit and Sustainability Rules and are, somewhat surprisingly, trying to get one of their star players off their books.

However, it won't be a straightforward player-for-cash deal. On the contrary, it is shaping up to be the most ridiculous transfer of the summer. Juventus will only pay €20 million for a player thought to be potentially worth as much as €100m, but, as part of the transaction, Bianconeri stars Weston McKennie and Samuel Iling-Junior will head to Aston Villa.

Lehmann to join Juventus

Now, even more surprising information has started to surface regarding the deal. Luiz is dating Villa superstar and social media influencer Alisha Lehmann, who is one of the biggest names in the women's game despite having yet to play for one of Europe's elite women's sides.

Italian media reports that Lehmann will also head to Turin as part of the Luiz deal, though it seems unlikely that she will be officially included alongside the other players in the swap package.

Some Italian outlets have, somewhat cynically, reported that this is a great 'PR signing' for Juventus due to the fact that the former West Ham attacker boasts a whopping 16.6m Instagram followers, making her the most 'followed' Swiss person in the world.

Lehmann is under contract in Birmingham until 2026, so Juventus will have to pay a transfer fee for her. However, it is not clear how much the Bianconeri will have to shell out to secure her services.