Steven Gerrard has hinted that Liverpool and Arsenal transfer target Douglas Luiz could leave Aston Villa by stating that it’s a ‘touchy situation’, as quoted by Birmingham Live.
For the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal, this is potentially exciting transfer news, but for Villa fans, this is a devastating blow ahead of transfer deadline day.
Luiz has one-year left on his contract in the Midlands, Arsenal have been long admirers of the midfielder that joined from Manchester City back in 2019.
There was also recent talk that Liverpool could put £20 million down on the table for the player Gerrard thinks is ‘fantastic’ – Luiz came off the bench to score directly from a corner as Villa suffered a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal on Wednesday night.
It has been well-documented that Liverpool need another midfielder before the deadline, but will Jurgen Klopp land the player that he needs?
Equally, Mohamed Elneny’s potential long-term injury has also forced Mikel Arteta to dip into the market once more, but will they be able to lure Luiz’s talents to the capital?
“There are two people, well, there are more than two people who are in control of that,” said Gerrard. “But I’m certainly not one of them.
“That will be Douglas, that will be his agent and that will be what happens around that. I’d like to keep him, he’s a fantastic player, I’ve made that abundantly clear.
“We are not in a position where we need to lose our top players, but at the same time Douglas has a year to go and it is one of those really touchy situations where the club has to do what is best for the club, not necessarily what is best for me.”
POTENTIAL BODY BLOW TO VILLA
Sitting in the relegation zone after five games, pressure well and truly on Gerrard and the possibility that one of your star players could leave.
It’s not exactly rosy in the garden for Villa heading into transfer deadline day and it won’t help matters if Luiz is sold during these next few hours.
Should Villa just take a hit and lose him for nothing next summer? A lot might also depend on the player they can bring through the doors before Thursday night’s cut-off point.
Either way, this isn’t a helpful situation for Villa and things are even worse because of the fact that they are sitting in the relegation zone.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
