To keep rival Premier League teams away from bidding on Douglas Luiz, Aston Villa established an outrageous asking price. Everyone knows the Brazilian midfielder is in high demand.



His performances for Villa have garnered attention from prominent clubs, with <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal</a> having been in the lead for a while. In his squad’s 2-0 win against Mikel Arteta on Saturday, Luiz continued his stellar season. He has been one of the league’s top players.



Last summer, it was the Gunners’ <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/arsenal-has-not-given-up-hope-on-douglas-luiz-transfer-20231024-WST-464431.html">three proposals to sign the 25-year-old</a> that got turned down. Those offers reached a high of over $31 million. Villa now values its star player much more.



Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, and Declan Rice cost over $125 million since Arsenal’s unsuccessful efforts to recruit Luiz. As far as midfielders go, they are among the costliest of all time.



The sums of money that each of them moved for this calendar year were outrageous. Meanwhile, in October 2022, Luiz signed a fresh, long-term contract with Villa. Regardless, the midfielder is tipped to join the list of the most expensive midfielders of all time soon.



<h2>Arsenal to try to sign the player for fourth time</h2>



There have been setbacks and unsuccessful efforts in the past. Still, Arsenal wants to make a serious play for the Brazilian in the coming weeks. To persuade Villa to let Luiz go amid such a promising season, Arsenal would need to make a far better deal.



However, the report adds that their desire is still substantial. After spending over $250 million in the summer, Arsenal’s available finances are rather low. They might use Thomas Partey’s departure as an opportunity to collect funds for fresh signings. Due to persistent injury concerns, the midfielder has started in only three league games so far this season.



The 30-year-old is now expected to miss the whole of 2023 owing to a hamstring injury, although he will be available to join Ghana at the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/africa-cup-of-nations-tv-schedule/">Africa Cup of Nations</a>. The tournament takes place from January 13 to February 11.



The Italian media has reported that Juventus are keeping tabs on Partey and that the Gunners contemplated letting the midfielder go during the summer transfer window. There were rumors that teams in Saudi Arabia were also interested. Nevertheless, a fair offer never did come through.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20231213_WST_477006_Luiz-Arsenal-1-1200x675_19a57f12.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="" class="wp-image-477038" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/12/Luiz-Arsenal-1-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/12/Luiz-Arsenal-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/12/Luiz-Arsenal-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/12/Luiz-Arsenal-1.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></figure>



Whether Arsenal formally expresses their desire to retain Partey is still to be determined. Arsenal would have more financial leverage to test Villa’s will to retain Luiz if he were to leave.



<h2>Aston Villa slap exorbitant price tag on Douglas Luiz</h2>



This means that Aston Villa will be ready to defend their star, Douglas Luiz, against any offers that may come in next month or during the middle of the season. The Villa Park outfit is asking an exorbitant $138 million for the player. That surpasses the $131 million Arsenal spent on Declan Rice last summer.



Unai Emery’s desire to retain his key players in January is understandable. The club is pursuing a <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/where-to-watch-uefa-champions-league-and-europa-league-on-us-tv-and-internet/">UEFA Champions League</a> spot, if not a title. Whether the Brazilian will try to depart this winter is also unclear, even though playing for the North London side is a significant step up for his career.



PHOTOS: IMAGO.

Aston Villa slaps fee on Douglas Luiz to deter other EPL clubs

Aston Villa have established an outrageous asking price to deter Premier League teams from bidding on Douglas Luiz.

Arsenal has not given up on potentially signing Douglas Luiz. The Gunners previously had three separate bids turned down by <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/aston-villa-tv-schedule/">Aston Villa</a> for the midfielder back in 2022. The highest bid that the Birmingham-based club rejected was around $30 million.



Nevertheless, <a href="https://www.90min.com/posts/arsenal-monitoring-douglas-luiz-following-failed-2022-transfer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">90 Min</a> is claiming that <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal</a> want to resurrect their pursuit of the player ahead of the January transfer period. Luiz has always been a highly-rated figure in the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Premier League</a>. The Brazilian was previously purchased by <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/manchester-city-tv-schedule/">Manchester City</a> back in 2017. While he was considered a prospect, Pep Guardiola ultimately sold the midfielder to Villa two years later.



Since arriving at the club, Luiz has gradually become one of the more impactful central midfielders in the league. The Brazilian previously focused his game more on the defensive aspects of his position. However, Luiz is now adding goals and assists to his repertoire to become a more complete player.



Villa hiring Unai Emery as head coach has certainly boosted Luiz’s play as well. The midfielder has recorded 10 top-flight goals since the Spaniard’s arrival a year ago. To put these statistics in perspective, the midfielder previously racked up six total Premier League goals in over three seasons before 2022.



<h2>Douglas Luiz would enter packed midfield at Arsenal</h2>



Arsenal looking to sign another midfielder is, however, quite interesting. The club currently has a plethora of options in the center of the pitch. This includes Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey, Fabio Vieira, Kai Havertz, Emile Smith Rowe, Jorginho, and Mohamed Elneny. Nevertheless, the future of the team’s midfield may not be so set in stone.



Jorginho and Elneny are currently in their final season under contract at the club. Neither player looks certain to agree to extensions for another season either. Partey and Smith Rowe’s futures are not exactly firm either. The <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/nations/ghana-national-team-tv-schedule/">Ghana</a> international has one more year remaining on his contract and Smith Rowe has failed to receive ample playing time.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20231024_WST_464431_Luiz-Arsenal-1200x675.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="" class="wp-image-464473" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/10/Luiz-Arsenal-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/10/Luiz-Arsenal-300x169.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/10/Luiz-Arsenal-768x432.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/10/Luiz-Arsenal.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></div><figcaption>Douglas Luiz has scored five goals from midfield in this season’s Premier League.</figcaption></figure>



Arsenal’s pursuit of Luiz in January could very well be to get ahead of the possible midfield shuffle come summertime. On paper, the Villa midfielder would give the Gunners something a little different. Outside of Rice, the club does not currently have a midfielder that can be stellar defensively but also provides goals as well.



<h2>Center forward likely to be top transfer priority for Arsenal</h2>



Along with Luiz, Arsenal also needs to focus on signing a new center forward in January. Eddie Nketiah is perhaps not providing enough goals for a club such as Arsenal. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/brentford-tv-schedule/">Brentford’s</a> Ivan Toney and fellow Villa forward Ollie Watkins have both been linked with the Gunners in recent weeks.



The north London outfit seemingly needs to add another proven goalscorer if they want to challenge for the Premier League title. This makes the center forward position a bigger need than another midfielder at the moment. Nevertheless, Arsenal’s brass has shown that they are not afraid to splash the cash in recent years.



Villa, however, looks set to battle to keep their stars in the current team. The club is off to a flying start so far this season and has won six of their first nine league matches. Emery has the team sitting fifth in the top-flight table and will hope to challenge for a potential <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/champions-league-tv-schedule/">Champions League</a> spot with his current roster.



PHOTO: IMAGO / Sportimage.

Arsenal has not given up hope on Douglas Luiz transfer

Arsenal is still reportedly interested in signing Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa. The Gunners previously had three bids rejected in 2022.

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Arsenal

Aston Villa slaps fee on Douglas Luiz to deter other EPL clubs

Arsenal

Arsenal has not given up hope on Douglas Luiz transfer