Thomas Partey problem behind Arsenal's third bid for Douglas Luiz
Robin Bairner
- 29 Sep 2022 03:44 CDT
- 3 min read
Arsenal missed out on Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz late in the summer transfer window but are set to revisit the Brazil international in January, with Mikel Arteta ready to sanction a third bid for the midfielder.
The Gunners want to add more depth to their midfield because of Thomas Partey’s ongoing injury issues.
The former Atletico Madrid man has managed only four appearances for the Gunners this season because of thigh problems and there are concerns over his durability after he missed 14 games during 2021/22 and 19 matches in his debut campaign at the club.
With Oleksandr Zinchenko also missing lately, this has highlighted a lack of depth in this area.
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Why Douglas Luiz could be Arsenal bound
Douglas Luiz, meanwhile, represents a legitimate target for Arsenal because his contract expires at the end of the season, at which point he will become a free agent if no new deal is struck.
It means that January is the last opportunity for Villa to raise any money from the 24-year-old after they turned down £23 million from the Gunners in the summer.
Arsenal are hopeful that a £15m bid will entice the Birmingham club into a sale, in part because they only paid £12.5m for him when he arrived from Manchester City in 2019. FootballTransfers, meanwhile, gives Douglas Luiz a valuation of £17m (€19m), despite his expiring deal.
Given the struggles of Aston Villa in the Premier League this season – they lie 15th in the table with only two wins to their name through seven matches – they may wish to keep hold of him until the summer. Equally, Douglas Luiz has typically been a bench player for Steven Gerrard’s side this term, so if a replacement could be found, there is certainly scope to strike a deal.
Douglas Luiz, meanwhile, has the type of profile that Arsenal have typically chased in recent years in that he is a relatively young player with untapped potential but also possesses significant Premier League experience, having turned out for Aston Villa more than 100 times in the competition.
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Our Player Valuation Model calculates an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) for more than 240.000 players in the world.
Read more here.Our Player Valuation Model calculates an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) for more than 240.000 players in the world. It uses information on the player's skill, potential, performance, contract duration, position and other statistics to estimate an accurate ETV.
Read more here.Furthermore, that he has only been a substitute this year makes him arguably more attractive as fresh legs will be welcome for what is sure to be a fraught end to the season as Arteta’s men chase a Champions League place – or perhaps even more. Certainly, this reduces the chances of him picking up injuries in the style of Partey.
For Arsenal, Aston Villa and Douglas Luiz, there is a lot to like about this transfer deal.
