Douglas Luiz has landed on his feet in Turin, with his career receiving a huge boost. This is important because in reality, it’s the second time he’s moved from Aston Villa to Juventus and the starts have been very different.
The Brazilian has been a near ever-present this season for the Serie A side. With three Serie A matches having been played, he’s started in all of them. In a couple of those, Luiz has come off with around 10 minutes left, but he’s been first choice.
Juventus drew 1-1 with AC Milan on Sunday evening. Luiz played for 79 minutes and the Turin media believe he was one of the best performers.
The 28-year-old’s intensity and aggression was particularly praised. Luciano Spalletti has shown his confidence in the midfielder and that’s being repaid.
Why this start is so important for the Brazilian
Douglas Luiz initially moved from Aston to Juventus in June 2024. It was part of a controversial transfer involving Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea.
In Turin, the whole thing was met with suspicion and Luiz got bad press from day one. It was seen as away to balance the books for both clubs, probably an attitude encouraged by Italy’s earlier plusvalenze scandal.
That saw players move between clubs for inflated fees to help balance the books.
Despite Iling-Junior and Barrenchea being hyped at the time, the former is now on loan at Bolton Wanderers and the latter is in and out of the team at Benfica.
Luiz was seen in a negative light and as a player who didn’t fit.
Plans to sell him back to the Premier League started weeks into his transfer. A loan to Nottingham Forest was followed by a same-basis return to Aston Villa.
The Villa Park return began with a lot of minutes but then faded. Subsequently, the chance of a permanent transfer slipped away. In May there was typical fretting in Turin that the player had become unsellable.
Luiz returned to Juventus and against all odds, started to win people over. In training and pre-season, the player gave it his all and convinced Luciano Spalletti.
Now he’s one of the most important, and best performing, players at Juventus.
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🩺 Came off with injury, but fears calmedhttps://t.co/Jm7eI9AhXQ #avfc #astonvilla— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) September 4, 2026
