Still wanting a midfielder to sit in front of the defence and dictate play, José Mourinho could end up with Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz.
That’s because the road leading to Granit Xhaka seems interminable, while other options are either going elsewhere or too expensive.
This doesn’t mean that Aston Villa are going to let Douglas Luiz go for cheap, however, regardless of whether his contract ends in 2023 or not.
The news comes from Il Romanista, who make it clear the Brazilian ‘will not renew’ with the Villans, meaning this summer will be their last chance to cash in on their player.
Tiago Pinto, AS Roma’s director, ‘likes him a lot’, but he is aware that a player of Luiz’s ilk ‘costs between €25-30m’, described as a ‘lot of money’ by the website.
However, with other areas of the pitch in better shape than the midfield, the Serie A side could stump up the cash for the right player, as Il Romanista add that ‘haven’t Roma made us understand that the investment this year will be made in the middle of the pitch?’
Something to look out for in the coming weeks, with Aston Villa perhaps looking to cash in on one star to ensure they can keep another in Coutinho?
