Man City plan REVEALED as Aston Villa miss out on emotional return

Tom Weber

Updated: 20 Jan 2025 16:18 GMT
3 min read

Manchester City are interested in re-signing Douglas Luiz, but a deal could prove tricky.

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The Juventus midfielder has not had an enjoyable six months in Turin following his bizarre transfer from Aston Villa, which involved several players and was primarily about preventing potential breaches of financial regulations.

Despite establishing himself as one of the Premier League's best in his position at Villa, Luiz has failed to impress Juventus boss Thiago Motta and finds himself mostly on the outside looking in.

The player has opened the door to a possible January departure and this has piqued the interest of his former clubs. Before he joined Villa, he was on the books at Man City but never made a competitive appearance due to work permit issues.

Both clubs have been linked with a potential transfer, but already last week, it was claimed that Luiz would favour a move to Manchester over a return to Birmingham. Back in October, Villa recruitment chief Monchi stated that he would jump at the opportunity to re-sign Luiz.

Man City eye Luiz return

According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, Man City are indeed considering re-signing Luiz as they remain in the market for a replacement for Rodri following his ACL injury.

So far, Man City's business has seen them agree deals for two defenders and a striker but not a midfielder despite it being arguably the most pressing concern.

The problem City are facing, according to Ben Jacobs, is that they seemingly only view Luiz as a short-term solution. They are keen on sealing a straight loan whereas Juventus want to either keep the Brazilian or offload him permanently.

So far, talks appear to still be at an early stage with no guarantee of a positive outcome for the Cityzens.