Douglas Luiz had a tough loan spell with Girona last season, barely playing for the club and being somewhat ostracised from the manager’s first team plans.
Therefore, it’s understandable that the last place he wanted to return to this summer was Girona.
In early August it was reported in Brazil that Luiz was waiting to secure a work permit which would allow him to be part of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City squad this season, but the attempt to secure the allowance failed.
Then an approach was made to Benfica to see if they’d be interested in taking the player for the season, but there was no progress on a deal after the initial contact and offering.
This time he wouldn’t have to worry about Pablo Machin, who had moved to Sevilla, and would instead be managed by Eusebio Sacristán.
Things couldn’t be going a lot better, and Luiz has 378 minutes of La Liga football so far this season. That’s more than he achieved in the entirety of last season, in just one month.
Those assurances weren’t simply empty words, then.
