Leeds United have been courting Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz this summer. The former Aston Villa man looks set to move on after just one season at the club.
Douglas Luiz left Aston Villa for Juventus in a £42million deal last summer. But he managed just 19 Serie A games in his maiden season, failing to score or assist, and now the 27-year-old has been put up for sale by Juve.
And Leeds United have been closely linked with Luiz. In fact, Daniel Farke’s side appear to have been the side most closely linked with a move for the one-time former Man City man, with the midfield in desperate need of a marquee signing.
So far this summer Leeds United have signed three players with Sebastiaan Bornauw recently completing a £5million move from Wolfsburg to become the Whites’ second signing of the window.
It’s said that Leeds United could sign Luiz on loan with an option to buy this summer. Juve are ready to take a financial hit on the Rio-born midfielder and it’s thought that the option to buy could be worth £30million next summer.
Douglas Luiz playing for Juventus in the Champions League against Club Brugge.
Photo by Joris Verwijst/BSR Agency/Getty Images
Douglas Luiz uninterested in Leeds United move this summer
Unfortunately for Farke and Leeds United, it looks like their pursuit of Luiz is over. An emerging report from Italian outlet Tutto Sport reports that Luiz has no desire to move to Elland Road this summer, suggesting that he could move elsewhere in the Italian top flight instead.
It was always an ambitious move for Leeds. But it’s exciting to see the club aiming high this summer, as the 49ers aim to establish Leeds United in the Premier League once and for all, with Farke armed with a generous £150million transfer budget in a bid to keep Leeds from an immediate relegation this summer.
Other midfielders linked this summer include the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Southampton’s Mateus Fernandes, and a handful of no.10s including Gustavo Hamer and Emi Buendia.
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Douglas Luiz playing in a Premier League game for Aston Villa.
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
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Juventus will be as gutted as Leeds United after Douglas Luiz decision
By all accounts, Luiz was really poor in Italy. So poor in fact that Juventus were desperate for Leeds United to sign Luiz this summer, and take him off their books going into the new season.
Whilst he boasts Premier League quality and experience, the fact that Juve seem so desperate to be rid of him might even suggest that Leeds have dodged a bullet, and an expensive one at that.
It’d be a lot of money for the club, assuming that he’d become a permanent player at some point, and Farke has multiple positions to bolster this summer: Leeds United are searching for a new goalkeeper with Illan Meslier set to leave, but have just seen Djordje Petrovic agree a move to Sunderland.
Then there’s more strikers, wingers, and a desperate need for full-backs too. Like with the Bijol and Bornauw signings, we might not see Leeds go much beyond the £20million mark this summer.