With the Granit Xhaka negotiation taking longer than anticipated, it isn’t surprising to see AS Roma look at alternatives.
One of those, according to two newspapers in Italy on Wednesday, is Douglas Luiz, currently at Aston Villa.
Bought from Manchester City following a successful loan at Girona, the Brazil international has been shining under Dean Smith at Villa Park, and therefore attracted some, perhaps unwanted from the Villans’ end, attention.
Corriere dello Sport explain the club are ‘monitoring’ the Aston Villa star’s situation, while Il Tempo go a bit further with the details.
They state Tiago Pinto ‘likes’ Douglas Luiz ‘a lot’, although they are aware Manchester City have a buy back clause of around €30m.
However, the price tag of €35-40m set by Aston Villa for their midfielder for any club that isn’t the Premier League champions is enough to put AS Roma off for now, who might have to look elsewhere if they cannot get the Xhaka deal over the line.
