Late Night Deals- Arsenal have just interrupted Tottenham’s transfer move to sign ‘incredibly brilliant’ 25 years old ace who is already on his way to joining Tottenham- Arsenal are set to hijack the deal secretly without Tottenham knowing about it
Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in signing the Aston Villa midfielder.
Arsenal are now ready to hijack Tottenham Hotspur’s move for Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz, according to a recent report from The Sun.
What’s the latest Arsenal transfer news?
Despite having already signed Declan Rice in a deal worth £105M, Arsenal remain in the market for a new central midfielder this summer, with a move for Southampton’s Romeo Lavia still on the cards after the 19-year-old gave the green light.
Lavia was viewed as a potential replacement for Thomas Partey, although Mikel Arteta has recently indicated that the Ghanaian will remain at the Emirates Stadium this summer.
When asked whether he expects the 30-year-old to stay, Arteta said: “Yes, Thomas is a super important player for us. Every time I had a conversation with him, he says he wants to stay with us. There is nothing there at all.”
Edu has personally been in talks to seal a move for Gremio midfielder Bitello this week, with the 23-year-old now emerging as a major target, and Arsenal could now be closing in on a move.
But according to a report from The Sun, the Gunners also remain interested in signing Luiz and are now ready to hijack Tottenham’s move for the Aston Villa midfielder, with Ange Postecoglou currently considering him as a potential replacement for Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg.
Arsenal tried to sign the Brazilian last summer before he opted to put pen to paper on a new £75k-per-week contract at Villa Park, which is not due to expire until the summer of 2026.
Arteta and Postecoglou are now poised to tussle it out for the central midfielder, but it is as yet unclear how much Villa would be willing to sell him for. It should be noted that considering Steven Gerrard, who held onto the midfielder’s services last term, is no longer in charge in the West Midlands, Unai Emery may yet be talked into a deal this year.
How good is Douglas Luiz?
The 25-year-old has been hailed as “incredible” by sports reporter Gregg Evans, while Villa boss Emery has in fact underlined just how essential he is for his current team, saying: “He’s very important and he has big potential. He can progress more.
“I’m trying every day to support him and to push him to do one more step ahead as a player. He’s doing it and he’s working very well.”
The Rio de Janeiro-born maestro poses an attacking threat, having averaged 0.18 non-penalty goals per 90 in the past year, which places him in the 86th percentile compared to his positional peers, and he also ranks in the 85th percentile for assists.
Not only that, but the Aston Villa star is also competent defensively, averaging 2 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game in the Premier League last season, with those statistics ranking him among the highest in the squad.
Having averaged a WhoScored match rating of 6.93, the midfielder was the Villans’ second-best performer in the league last season. However, there are doubts over whether he is a necessary signing for Arsenal.
Given that Arteta has now claimed that Partey is likely to stay, the Gunners are well-stocked in midfield, and they have no real need to spend big on another player in that area of the pitch.
