Juventus report: Italian giants join hunt for Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz with utterly bizarre potential swap deal

Juventus have entered the race for Aston Villa's highly-rated midfielder Douglas Luiz.

The Brazilian has less than a year left on his contract at Villa Park, and could leave for nothing at the end of the season, with Arsenal's strong interest making them the frontrunners for his signature.

But Italian giants Juve are keen to swoop in in January and gazump the Gunners with a proposed swap deal, according to Italian website JuveLive.

This would see Juventus offer forward Moise Kean to Villa.

And that's where it gets confusing. Kean, 22, is still under contract at Everton, and is only in Turin on the second year of a loan deal. Juventus would have to complete the permanent signing of Kean for £27m, before immediately selling him to Villa in return for Douglas Luiz.

It would continue a baffling career trajectory for the Italian, who first broke into the Juventus team at the age of 16, before joining Everton for around £24m in 2019. He has made just 34 appearances for the Toffees, scoring four goals, but has had loan spells at PSG and back in Turin.

The Aston Villa hierarchy are unlikely to be willing to let their defensive midfielder go easily, but with the clock ticking down on his contract, January may be the last opportunity to get anything out of a deal for him.

Villa, managed by former Liverpool and England legend Steven Gerrard, have had a tough start to the new season, taking just four points from their opening six matches. This weekend's match against bottom of the table Leicester could prove to be crucial come the end of the season.