Arsenal have been left with a clear route to sign Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz.
The Brazilian scored against the Gunners last night in a 2-1 defeat, directly from a corner, only for news to filter through about a swift return to the Emirates Stadium. Mikel Arteta is reportedly interested in the player, given the injury problems that he has in the centre of the park.
But the move is complicated, given Aston Villa's refusal to undersell Luiz. Now, it seems like a breakthrough could clearer, though.
Villa have had a £13 million bid accepted for Wolverhampton Wanderers utility man Leander Dendoncker, according to Sky Sports. With Boubacar Kamara the first-choice man to anchor Steven Gerrard's three-man midfield, it seems as if Dendoncker could well be the deputy.
That would leave Arsenal free to move for Luiz, who Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano claims the Gunners have struck personal terms with.
Dendoncker is stylistically a little closer to Kamara, anyway. Both can play at centre-back, meaning that Gerrard could well switch between a back five and a back four in-game – or simply ask his No.6 to drop deeper to collect the ball in build-up.
Luiz, however is capable of operating as a No.8 and could well be tasked with doing so in Arsenal's system, should he join.
Luiz is said to be pushing for the move but Arsenal's first bid of around £20m was rejected by Villa.
It seems likely that this one could go down to the wire.
More Arsenal stories
Arsenal are still looking for the “mystery winger” to complete their squad, while a midfielder has also been touted.
After Nicolas Pepe left the Gunners for more minutes on loan at Nice, manager Mikel Arteta declared a desire to “add firepower”, though he cannot guarantee a new player will come in. The Gunners have interest in Pedro Neto, as well as a Ukrainian wonderkid.
Mohamed Elneny’s injury means that midfield might need strengthening, too. FFT reported months ago that personal terms with Youri Tielemans were agreed, with the north Londoners just needing to agree a fee with Leicester: now, one obstacle remains. In other news, Bukayo Saka has hinted that he’s close to extending his contract.
