Midfielder Douglas Luiz has firmly stated that he is very happy at Aston Villa, amid recent speculation that Manchester City are interested.
Luiz left City back in 2019 having failed to secure a work permit to allow him to play for Pep Guardiola’s first-team.
Pep never wanted to lose the Brazilian, but it was out of his hands and the star was then sold to Aston Villa for around £15 million – which was considered good business.
Luiz has now clocked up 173 appearances for Villa and at the moment, he is probably playing the best football of his career.
In fact, he even admits that himself in a new interview with Sky Sports, and he also stresses just how happy he is at the club.
Manchester City may have hard time re-signing Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa
At the end of last month, 90min reported that City were keen on the idea of re-signing Luiz.
It was stressed that Villa definitely did not want to entertain any offers, and it was suggested Luiz was keen to help Villa potentially win silverware in the form of the Europa Conference League.
Now, Luiz has spoken about his current situation.
It looks as though City are going to have a very hard time signing the Brazilian if they are indeed interested. Admitting he finds the speculation flattering, he said: “I am very happy to hear the stories but I am here at Aston Villa. My focus is totally here. I don’t spend a lot of time looking at the stories. I see them, but I don’t focus on that and I’m not looking at it every day. My head is here at Aston Villa.”
Luiz is particularly happy right now because he is getting to work with Unai Emery, a manager he describes as ‘exceptional’.
Any Luiz deal would be very difficult for City
Realistically, Luiz is going nowhere until next summer at the very earliest.
He seems really settled at Villa Park and many City fans will be happy that he’s managed to become a success in the Premier League, after the difficulties he had getting a work permit when he was at the Etihad.
Some wouldn’t mind seeing him back at the club.
But it would definitely be a difficult deal to do, because the £75,000-a-week star is just so key for Villa these days and he has a contract that reportedly runs until 2026.
We shall see what the future holds. Kalvin Phillips will surely not be a City player next season, and maybe Bernardo Silva will finally leave the club after years of speculation. Who knows, there is always the notion of Luiz perhaps feeling there’s unfinished business for him back at the Etihad…
