Arsenal told it will take ‘record fee’ to land Aston Villa star who has thrived under Unai Emery

Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins celebrate
Former Aston Villa star Alan Hutton thinks that it could take a ‘record fee’ to prize Douglas Luiz away from Villa Park amid links to Arsenal.
Aston Villa have enjoyed a tremendous start to the 2023-24 campaign and Unai Emery will be desperate to keep hold of his best players.
Along with Ollie Watkins, Luiz has been one of their standout performers this season and it’s no surprise that he’s attracting interest from other clubs.
Arsenal have held a long-term interest in the Brazilian midfielder and Mikel Arteta’s side seem to be on the hunt for a new midfielder as the future of Thomas Partey remains up in the air.
The 25-year-old already has six goal contributions in the Premier League this season and he has been a vital cog in Emery’s system.
Aston Villa have hatched a plan to keep hold of Luiz as they are preparing to open contract talks with the 25-year-old to ensure that he sticks around.
Of course, every player has their price, but Hutton thinks that a potential suitor would have to stump up a mouthwatering amount of money for Aston Villa to be tempted to sell.
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Luiz deemed to be worth a record fee
Aston Villa’s biggest sale of all time is Jack Grealish, who left the club in 2021 for a fee of £100million. While Hutton doesn’t value Luiz at that price, he does think that the Brazilian would be worth a record fee for a midfielder.
“I think at this moment in time, with some of the market valuations, it would have to be over £50million,” the pundit told Football Insider.
“He’s at a great age, he’s been outstanding. He could probably play for most teams in the Premier League, with Manchester City being the strongest one.
“So there will obviously be people snooping about. He’s got a great goal-scoring record at Villa Park, you see what he gives you in dead-ball situations – penalties, corners, free kicks.
“I think he ticks all the boxes. I think we’re talking record fees here. Obviously, Jack Grealish’s the highest and he’s not going to reach that, but we’re talking record numbers here for a midfielder.
“Hopefully he doesn’t, he’s a massive part of what Villa do moving forward, but it would have to be a big number.”
Under Emery, Aston Villa have proven that they are capable of competing with sides at the top. Luiz is also adored in the Villa fanbase and he seems to be settled at the club.
It would surely take a gigantic fee for Aston Villa to even contemplate the sale of Luiz and if they manage to tie him down to a new contract, they won’t have to worry about the interest from Arsenal.