Aston Villa can finally welcome Douglas Luiz into training.
According to Globo Esporte in Brazil, Douglas Luiz has finally been handed a work permit, and will now be able to star training with Aston Villa.
Luiz, 21, was identified as a top Villa target last month, and he secured a £15million move from Manchester City towards the end of July.
The problem is that Villa have been waiting for Luiz to obtain a work permit to play in England; something that City had been unable to do since signing him from Vasco da Gama in 2017.
That resulted in two seasons on loan at Girona, leaving fans to worry that he may not receive permission to play for Villa – but claims in Brazil now suggest he’s finally got the necessary paperwork to start his Villa career.
It’s claimed that Luiz hasn’t even been training with Villa, and has been back in Rio de Janeiro training on his own, doing fitness work without guidance from the Premier League club.
Luiz allegedly thinks he can manage 45 minutes against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, but with little time for integration with the rest of Dean Smith’s side before that game, he looks unlikely to feature.
Villa not only have a settled midfield from last season in Conor Hourihane, John McGinn and Jack Grealish, but have also brought in Marvelous Nakamba, who should be in contention too.
Luiz may have to sit this one out, but at least he can finally begin his Villa career – and his own evaluation suggests that he’s at least in great shape, rather than coming in with no pre-season at all.
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