Douglas Luiz - coming back?

[DrGonzo]

Straight from the Sky website…

I am very happy to hear the stories but I am here at Aston Villa," he says. "My focus is totally here. I don't spend a lot of time looking at the stories. I see them, but I don't focus on that and I'm not looking at it every day. My head is here at Aston Villa."

[Brazilian Villain]

I wonder if this is from the same interview he did with Val Bhardwaj. https://twitter.com/VaiBhardwaj/status/1729885600160141494

[dave.woodhall]

Straight from the Sky website…

I am very happy to hear the stories but I am here at Aston Villa," he says. "My focus is totally here. I don't spend a lot of time looking at the stories. I see them, but I don't focus on that and I'm not looking at it every day. My head is here at Aston Villa."

He didn't say the rest of him is.

[DrGonzo]

Straight from the Sky website…

I am very happy to hear the stories but I am here at Aston Villa," he says. "My focus is totally here. I don't spend a lot of time looking at the stories. I see them, but I don't focus on that and I'm not looking at it every day. My head is here at Aston Villa."

He didn't say the rest of him is.

Fair point Dave. However his footballing brain of worth its weight in gold. Maybe we could graft it on to Callum Chambers and create a hybrid defensive midfielder?

[cdward]

From BBC Gossip page, we have put a price tag of £110M on Dougie to keep Arsenal away, apparently they want him for around £60M.
In todays market i think our valuation is more accurate than theirs.
They have Declan Rice, i can't see them pursuing this.
This is the right way to put these rumours to bed.
Move on, nothing to see here.

https://www.footballtransfers.com/en/transfer-news/uk-premier-league/2023/12/exclusive-arsenal-transfer-news-douglas-luiz-aston-villa-asking-price-steve-kay

[chrisw1]

The papers will continue to speculate.  I believe that the only possible way he would leave in Jan would be through a buy-out clause.  Even then, I'm not convinced he'd go.

Any articles stating we have put a value on him are absolute bullshit.  There's no way we'd encourage speculation by doing so.

With that said, we can list all the reasons why he would want to stay just like we did with Jack.  But ultimately if a very big offer comes in for him in the summer then I could see him leaving.  Not least because we are still in a difficult position with FFP given our comparatively low revenue compared to the (previously established) top 6 clubs.

[AV82EC]

The papers will continue to speculate.  I believe that the only possible way he would leave in Jan would be through a buy-out clause.  Even then, I'm not convinced he'd go.

Any articles stating we have put a value on him are absolute bullshit.  There's no way we'd encourage speculation by doing so.

With that said, we can list all the reasons why he would want to stay just like we did with Jack.  But ultimately if a very big offer comes in for him in the summer then I could see him leaving.  Not least because we are still in a difficult position with FFP given our comparatively low revenue compared to the (previously established) top 6 clubs.

The one thing that changes the FFP conversation is if we qualify for the Champions League which would probably give a minimum uplift of £50-100m to our revenue.

[Dave]

Not least because we are still in a difficult position with FFP given our comparatively low revenue compared to the (previously established) top 6 clubs.

While I'm very happy we did, I do wonder whether we managed to shoot ourselves in the foot with the Conference League qualification from an FFP perspective.

FFP rules for UEFA competitions are much stricter than Premier League ones, so maybe being subject to them earlier than we had planned to be ruined our planning for it a bit.

[AV82EC]

Not least because we are still in a difficult position with FFP given our comparatively low revenue compared to the (previously established) top 6 clubs.

While I'm very happy we did, I do wonder whether we managed to shoot ourselves in the foot with the Conference League qualification from an FFP perspective.

FFP rules for UEFA competitions are much stricter than Premier League ones, so maybe being subject to them earlier than we had planned to be ruined our planning for it a bit.

This is true as allowable UEfA losses over the 3 year period are only €60m (c£51m). However are they calculated the same way as EPL P&S rules which allow £105m over 3 years?

[Dave]

Not least because we are still in a difficult position with FFP given our comparatively low revenue compared to the (previously established) top 6 clubs.

While I'm very happy we did, I do wonder whether we managed to shoot ourselves in the foot with the Conference League qualification from an FFP perspective.

FFP rules for UEFA competitions are much stricter than Premier League ones, so maybe being subject to them earlier than we had planned to be ruined our planning for it a bit.

This is true as allowable UEfA losses over the 3 year period are only €60m (c£51m). However are they calculated the same way as EPL P&S rules which allow £105m over 3 years?

I beleive that UEFA rules also say that transfer fees / wages can only be a maximum of 70% of club revenues - and I don't think the Premier League has a (published) equivalent to that.

[Footy-Vill]

Dean Smith:
Smith admits that he cannot take all the credit for Douglas Luiz

“With Dougie, I didn’t know an awful lot about him, but Suso [former Villa sporting director Jesus García Pitarch] sold him to me,” says Smith. “He was the best player in training all the time, but when he first came to Villa, the language was a barrier. He’s from a favela in Brazil, so his education was maybe a bit different from some of the lads.

“Once he started to integrate more and build relationships, then you could see the improvement. He surprised me at the West Ham game when he saw me and he spoke English to me because it would be very rare he would do that when I was in charge.

“Pep [Guardiola] really liked him, but I think City had a big problem because he wouldn’t play enough to get his work permit. I think City moved beyond him in that first season in the Premier League. They had a buy-back clause and it was good for Villa that they didn’t take it up, but you could see him going and playing there now.”

Daily Telegraph.

[Brend'Watkins]

Well, he didn’t manage to get himself booked last night. That should keep the conspiracy theorists quite till January at least.

[Brazilian Villain]

Well, he didn’t manage to get himself booked last night. That should keep the conspiracy theorists quite till January at least.

Not quite, if he gets booked against the Blades that means he's off to Yanited.

[Aldridge Villa]

Been a bystander at best the last 2 matches.

[VillaTim]

Been a bystander at best the last 2 matches.

Wonder if his heads been turned