Arsenal have annoyed Aston Villa with their efforts to persuade Douglas Luiz to agree to a transfer as boss Mikel Arteta strives to replace the injury-stricken Thomas Partey.
That is according to TEAMtalk, which claims that Arsenal have annoyed Aston Villa with their tactics to tempt Luiz to move to north London. The Gunners are trying to convince him of an adventure in the capital with the Brazilian interested in signing for a Champions League club.
Luiz is finding it hard to ignore the chance to join a team playing in UEFA’s elite competition. The 25-year-old also believes he is ready to sign for a top team as Arsenal ready themselves to seek a deal in January. But Aston Villa will demand no less than £60m to consider selling.
Arsenal have already spoken to Aston Villa about a transfer
Billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens are ready to play hardball in their attempts to retain Luiz this winter. Aston Villa are under no financial pressure to sell a player who has gone from strength to strength since Unai Emery replaced Steven Gerrard in charge, as well.
Yet Arsenal have already spoken to Aston Villa about a transfer for Luiz in January. According to Football Transfers, the Gunners recently approached the Villans to start sounding out any deal. But it will take an ‘extraordinary’ bid with Emery is extremely loath to sell a vital player.
Emery aspires to retain the key group of players who secured Aston Villa qualification for the Europa Conference League. It marked the Villa Park team’s return to UEFA action for the first time in 13 years. He also has the claret-and-blue club fifth in the Premier League this season.
Arsenal view Luiz as their top midfield transfer target
Aston Villa are just two points behind Arsenal in the Premier League table through 11 games this term. Their strong start to the Europa Conference League has also further strengthened their desire to retain Luiz. He has featured in all 18 of their fixtures in all competitions so far.
Luiz has further scored six and assisted two goals to convince Arsenal to show an interest in his transfer from Aston Villa. Fabrizio Romano has even claimed that the Brazilian is Arteta’s top midfield target for the January window. Luiz has long appeared highly in Arsenal’s plans.
Arteta is exploring a move for Luiz once more ahead of the winter market after losing Partey for the remainder of this year. The 30-year-old recently underwent a procedure to address a thigh injury. He even suffered the blow in training soon after returning from an earlier injury.
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