Steve McManaman told BT Sport 2 during their live coverage of Aston Villa’s defeat at Burnley on Wednesday night that he cannot see why Manchester City would want to re-sign Douglas Luiz.
There is the worry that those over in Manchester would try to bring the defensive-minded midfielder back to the Etihad because there is a buy-back clause in his contract, as reported by the Atheltic.
When Luiz joined Villa from Man City in 2019, he initially struggled to get his motor going and produced a number of indifferent performances, but since football restarted, it could be argued that he has been the club’s best player.
Former Real Madrid midfielder McManaman labelled Luiz as a ‘really, really good’ player and shared that he cannot see him leaving the Midlands in the summer.
“He has been excellent, hasn’t he,” said McManaman. “I think the one thing about Man City is that they have a raft of brilliant midfielders, haven’t they?!
“It’s the one thing you would say. They probably don’t need another central midfielder, Manchester City.
“But he has been excellent, Douglas Luiz. Really, really good.”
Jack Grealish penning a new deal at the start of the season is a sign that the club means business and if he doesn’t leave then there’s no reason why others should.
It could be argued that Grealish leaving would start the domino effect of players departing, but that’s not the case because Dean Smith is showing signs that the glory days can return to the club.
A European finish will be the target for Villa and with the abundance of talent they have on the pitch there is no reason why that top-seven finish cannot be achieved.
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