Yahoo News Douglas Luiz opens up on Aston Villa future amid Arsenal and Barcelona transfer links
Douglas Luiz has reaffirmed his commitment to Aston Villa after playing a key role in the club's progression under Unai Emery.
The midfielder's form across the last 18 months is a big reason why Villa have their sights set on Champions League qualification and Europa Conference League glory in the final weeks of the season. A month before Emery's arrival, Luiz penned a new contract with Villa after Arsenal saw three bids turned down for him on transfer deadline day.
Mikel Arteta is an admirer of Luiz and he remains a prime target for Arsenal, but given the level of interest in him, Villa could ask for a huge amount of money to even start discussions this summer. Reports in Spain claim that Villa's president of fooball operations, Monchi, could slap an £85m price tag on Luiz.
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The 25-year-old's deal runs out in 2026 and he has recently spoken about his enjoyment playing for the club and progressing under Emery.
“We’re all very happy with how this season is going, especially me, with all the history that the club is building and for my goals and assists, too," Luiz told DAZN Portugal.
"Personally, I’m very happy with it all and I think it’s just the start of a new chapter. As I always say, Aston Villa is a huge club and we’re prepared to write a new chapter.
"Since Unai arrived there was a huge boost in the group’s confidence. I think he brought confidence to the team because we always had a good group of players.
"The squad is pretty much the same, only one or two players were bought in, so I think his work was important for the history that we’re writing.”
Barcelona are also reportedly interested in Luiz and sporting director Deco has travelled to England on several occasions to watch Luiz live this season, including in Villa's 1-0 win over Arsenal back in December. The reality is that Luiz would be a strong addition to any squad in world football and that comes at a price.
Barcelona’s financial issues have been well-documented and they were fined over an FFP breach last year. The Spanish giants have already admitted an operating loss without the inadmissible FFP revenue of around €200m.
Barca are already in huge debt after accumulating €1.35bn accumulated on operation losses over the years. Another €1.5bn has already been committed on Espai Barca, their new stadium project. They only spent €43m on transfers in the past two windows and €69m across 2021/22 before splashing over €100m last season.
Luiz has started all but one of the 56 Premier League games which Emery has taken charge of since joining the club from Villarreal.
“Douglas is playing very good and he improves a lot," Emery said. "His commitment is amazing. I am very happy with him and I want to keep him, of course.
"I think he’s happy with us, his commitment with his national team and his performances are amazing, fantastic. I want him.”
After picking up his 10th booking of the season, Luiz will miss Villa's next two league games against Arsenal (A) and Bournemouth (H). He will be allowed to feature for Villa in both Europa Conference League quarter-final legs against Lille.
