Arsenal on alert as long-admired midfield genius becomes possible transfer casualty at anxious Prem club

Arsenal are still interested in signing Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa, who might have to consider the Brazilian as someone to sell in the summer – though he is not the only candidate – a report has revealed.

Two years ago, Arsenal took their pursuit of Luiz down to the wire on deadline day in the summer, placing several bids for the midfielder. Ultimately, Aston Villa stood firm and have since extended his contract until 2026.

However, Luiz remains on the radar of powerful clubs thanks to his form as part of Villa’s attempts to secure another European qualification.

And according to the Daily Mail, Villa are starting to worry they may have to sell some of their key players to stay on side with financial regulations this summer.

Luiz is possibly the most valuable player they have and is therefore someone they could be bracing themselves for bids for.

The Mail insists that Arsenal are long-term admirers of the 25-year-old, which implies they could make another move for him in the upcoming transfer window.

After all, Arsenal’s own midfield could evolve further at the end of the season with the expected departures of Mohamed Elneny on a free and Thomas Partey in a permanent deal, while Jorginho’s future also seems to be 50:50 between staying and leaving.

Just like Luiz is not the only midfielder to be linked with Arsenal recently, Arsenal are not the only club to be linked with Luiz, as there has also been speculation about a return to Manchester City, where he was previously on the books but never played.

In the Mail‘s report, though, Arsenal are the only club that get a reference when Luiz is mentioned.

Aston Villa identify alternative star to sell

That said, he is not the only candidate to be sold by Villa. In fact, fellow midfielder Jacob Ramsey is named as someone transfer chief Monchi could cash in on instead.

The £50m-rated Ramsey has recently attracted Newcastle United and as an academy graduate, his sale would be pure profit on the books.

Villa raised funds by selling some other academy graduates, including Ramsey’s brother Aaron to Burnley, Cameron Archer to Sheffield United and Jadon Philogene to Hull City, last summer.. which indicates they could repeat the strategy.

But they could also make a major profit on Luiz, since they only signed him for £15m back in 2019 but reportedly think he could command a similar £100m fee to what they sold Jack Grealish to Manchester City for in 2021.

That could play into the hands of Arsenal, who are currently six points above Villa (although both occupy Champions League places as things stand).

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