Aston Villa were genuinely surprised that Manchester City did not trigger a buyback clause to sign Douglas Luiz.
That is according to The Athletic.
So, what was said about Douglas Luiz and Manchester City? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Well – firstly – let’s set the scene.
Aston Villa signed Luiz from Manchester City for £15m back in July 2019 after the Citizens failed to secure a work permit for the Brazilian.
When agreeing to sell the South American to Aston Villa, Manchester City negotiated a £30m buyback clause which was valid until 2021.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Manchester City did not feel Luiz had done enough at Villa Park to trigger the £30m clause, and allowed it to expire.
However – according to The Athletic – Aston Villa did think the Brazil international had done enough, as the Villans even sanctioned a £14m deal for Morgan Sanson in fear of Manchester City triggering their buyback clause.
Aston Villa planned to reinvest that £30m sum into more additions beyond Sanson, but to the surprise of those at Villa Park, and also those close to Luiz, Manchester City decided to ignore him.
The Athletic add that Pep Guardiola instead chose to hand Fernandinho a new contract, before looking elsewhere for a new midfielder.
Manchester City made a mistake with Douglas Luiz
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. At the time, Manchester City were probably correct not to spend £30m on Luiz, as he admittedly had not shown enough to warrant that amount being spent on him.
Now – however – Guardiola is looking at a £60m player, at least, dominating the Premier League.
Luiz has impressively scored five goals in just ten Premier League appearances so far this season – while also providing one assist.
Alan Shearer even claimed that the 25-year-old has transformed Aston Villa.
Manchester City won’t care, as Guardiola boasts an embarrassment of midfield riches in the likes of Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne, although the chance to sign Luiz for just £30m is now looking like a rare mistake from the recruitment team at the Etihad Stadium.
