Douglas Luiz celebrates
Douglas Luiz celebrates scoring for Aston Villa against Chelsea(Image: Aston Villa FC)
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Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti has not shut the door on former Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz amid claims he plans to revive his career in Turin.
Luiz spent the second half of last season on loan at Villa where he played just 13 league games and scored once after joining Nottingham Forest for the first part of the campaign and faces more scrutiny over his future.
While his spell at Villa ended with silverware, Luiz is yet to hit the heights at Juventus where he struggled to recapture the form that lit up the Premier League in his first spell at B6.
Juventus are due to report back for training soon and Spalletti is eager to get the best out of Luiz whose career hasn't quite taken off as many had expected after his £45m move to Italy.
A report in the Gazetta Dello Sport says: "The Tuscan coach wants to evaluate players returning from loan spells, hoping to seize some unexpected opportunities. Among these, Douglas Luiz is the one who intrigues him the most.
"Despite the injuries that have plagued Douglas Luiz since his move to the Bianconeri (seven muscular issues in the last two seasons), Spalletti is keen to test him during the first few weeks of work at Continassa, before the August tour to Hong Kong and Australia.
"The former national team coach is convinced that the Brazilian's technique and tactical awareness have not suddenly vanished and could shine again in his possession-based system and "dominant" style of play.
"In essence, the Juve coach wants to experiment with him as a deep-lying playmaker, similar to what he did with Pizarro at Udinese and Roma, Brozovic at Inter, and Lobotka at Napoli. For now, it's a crazy idea. But who knows, it might just turn into a full-blown "Spalletti masterstroke".
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John Townley
John Townley
You can follow our dedicated reporter John Townley on X by clicking here - he follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.
So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur - that's why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you'll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox.
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