In November, Monchi dropped a dollop of honesty in the transfer rumour mill when he made it clear he’d consider taking Douglas Luiz back from Juventus.
The Brazilian midfielder moved from Aston Villa to the Turin club last summer and has had a headache-inducing period in Italy. There’s been flashes of what he can do, but also a weight of negativity and luck which just won’t go his way.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport at the time, Monchi explained: “He’s a playmaker. Every ball that comes out of his feet makes sense. After his farewell we invested well, but I would always take Douglas back, for any club. He’s very strong.
“He’s playing less than we would have expected, but we’re talking about a very strong player. Some players make their mark straight away, others need time. You need patience, but Douglas’ qualities are beyond discussion. Last year he played 90% of our games and was decisive.”
Luiz has played around 500 minutes in Serie A for Juventus, and the 26-year-old is currently out with a muscle injury.
Turin newspaper Tuttosport have taken a look at his situation, and they go with a headline saying Juventus need €40m if they’re to sell the midfielder this summer. That’s so they avoid making a ‘capital loss’ on the purchase, something which would reduce the money their version of PSR allows them to spend.
As far as Tuttosport is concerned, Douglas Luiz still has ‘many admirers’ in the Premier League, where they remember what he did in England relatively recently, rather than the chaos at Juve.
Certainly one for Monchi to keep an eye on, depending on what other business Aston Villa can do. Should the Brazilian move this summer then it’s perhaps likelier he’ll initially go out on loan and then any purchase option or obligation can be around €35m and still see a capital loss being avoided.
