Nottingham Forest are making progress in their pursuit of Juventus’ Douglas Luiz, with the Italian side now reacting to Forest’s breakthrough.
After months of speculation, Forest made direct contact over the Luiz signing to try and tempt him towards the City Ground, with Everton also interested in the Brazilian.
Talks look to be progressing as Nuno Espírito Santo has personally requested the Luiz deal, a significant boost to the deal given that Luiz has already expressed his interest in returning to the Premier League.
It’s clear that Juventus are happy to see the Brazilian move on, with their latest move surrounding Luiz a telling hint at how the Italian side have reacted to Forest’s advances.
Douglas Luiz gestures during Bologna vs Juventus
Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Ciancaphoto Studio/Getty Images
Juventus’ Douglas Luiz decision is incredibly telling
With the relationship between club and player deteriorating, Luiz skipped Juventus training in an attempt to advance negotiations on his exit.
Juventus were unhappy about his decision, but it’s not as if the Italian side have any interest in re-integrating Luiz back into the squad, shown clearly in their first squad of pre-season.
Playing Regianna in their first friendly, Luiz was nowhere to be seen in the starting XI which was to be expected, but more telling is that he wasn’t even in the squad despite returning to training after the earlier spat.
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13 players featured on the bench for Juventus ahead of Luiz, suggesting that Forest’s push to get a deal done is clearly making an impact.
The deal is in the hands of Edu and the recruitment team to finalise, then. If they do manage to secure the Luiz signing, it will be up to Espírito Santo to find a role for the Brazilian in what is a well-stocked area of the team.
Douglas Luiz would be joining a stacked Nottingham Forest midfield
Clearly, if the Forest manager has personally requested the signing, he must have a plan in mind to ensure that Luiz earns minutes among a talented group of central midfielders.
Ibrahim Sangare
Elliot Anderson
Nicolas Dominguez
Ryan Yates
Espírito Santo thinks Elliot Anderson will be the Premier League’s best one day so his place in the starting XI is almost guaranteed, leaving one spot for Luiz to compete for with the likes of Ibrahim Sangare and Ryan Yates.
However, Espírito Santo is planning a tactical change at Forest to control possession more effectively, a plan that Luiz can only add to.
He’ll see plenty of action either way, but if Nuno was to consider a three-man midfield, Luiz could become the heartbeat of the central areas.