According to Birmingham Mail, Chelsea have joined Arsenal in the race to sign Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz.
The midfielder was a target of Arsenal at the very end of the last summer window. The Gunners placed three bids for the Brazilian, with the last offer worth £25 million.
Considering the 24-year-old only had one year left on his current deal, it was a good enough offer. However, the hierarchy at Villa Park were serious about keeping their prized asset and stood firm on their £40m valuation [source: Birmingham Mail].
That too despite the fact that the former Man City man has not shown an inclination to sign fresh terms at the Midlands club. Which leaves the door open for a winter or a summer transfer away from Birmingham.
Luiz has made an impressive 118 appearances for the Villans, since making the switch to Villa in 2019. He quickly established himself as one of the influential figures at the club, which paved the way for a national team call-up. Currently, the midfielder boasts nine appearances for Brazil.
Having worked with him at Man City, Mikel Arteta was keen for a link-up with the player at the Emirates Stadium, after it became clear that the Gunners needed reinforcements in the center of the park.
Midfielder needed
A serious injury to Mohamed Elneny in the last week of the transfer window put a halt to their ambitions of adding an attacking winger into their ranks. However, after the end of the window, Arsenal were unable to bring either a midfielder or a winger.
Now Arteta sees himself somewhat light in midfield. But it does not look like a serious concern due to the upcoming World Cup. The London side will play their last game on November the 13th, before the commencement of the decorated competition.
The finals will last until the end of December. That means Arsenal will only have to see out October and half of November before the transfer window reopens in January.
Arteta is expected to target a central midfielder in the winter with Luiz once again a target, however, it looks like Arsenal will now face stiff competition from Chelsea. The Birmingham Mail says the Blues have now joined the race and could now hijack Arsenal’s attempts to sign the South American.
Luiz is currently valued at £31m by Transfermarkt but the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea will hope to sign him for much less in January considering his contract situation.
