Ex-Aston Villa favourite 'offered' to Premier League rivals ahead of January as shock £50m move mooted

Premier League heavyweights Manchester United and Manchester City have both been offered the chance to sign former Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz, according to reports.

The Juventus midfielder, who racked up 204 appearances for the Villans between 2019 and 2024, has struggled to settle in Turin following his £50m departure from the West Midlands this summer. The Brazilian international has only played nine times for the Old Lady this term, with the vast majority of his appearances in Italy coming from the subs bench.

Luiz has been limited to just two starts for Thiago Motta’s title-chasing team and is now understood by Italian outlet Gazetta to be a player that is ‘expendable’ to the 36-time Serie A champions. The 26-year-old is still held in high regard by a number of Premier League clubs after his exceptional six-year stint at Aston Villa.

He was one of the most popular members of Unai Emery’s team which secured Champions League qualification last term and is renowned for his exceptional workrate, his incredible passing range, strength and his ability to score goals from distance.

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These qualities make him a target for a number of Premier League clubs including Manchester United and Manchester City, who have both reportedly been offered the chance to sign the midfielder from Juventus in January. Manchester United are currently in the market for a new central midfielder to strengthen their hopes of achieving a European finish under new manager Ruben Amorim after a subdued start to the season under the Portuguese coach’s predecessor Erik ten Hag.

The Red Devils are expected to stick with Amorim’s preferred 3-4-3 system, which is reliant on strength in the heart of midfield to win possession high up the pitch and pick out sharp passes on the counter attack. Luiz is blessed with many of these qualities and could prove a worthy successor to an ageing Casemiro, whose performances have come under the spotlight in recent months.

However, Manchester City are arguably at ever greater need of defensive midfield reinforcements after a sudden dip in form which has seen the team lose five of their last six matches across all competitions - marking the worst run of Pep Guardiola’s managerial career.

The loss of midfield lynchpin Rodri appears to be hitting Man City even harder than expected - and the signing of Luiz, who was once on the books at the Etihad, could prove to be the perfect remedy to the club’s current problems.