Transfer News: Steven Gerrard has hinted about being powerless to stop Douglas Luiz from leaving amid Chelsea interest
Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea’s hunt for a midfielder continues. The German coach needs to add a new face to his midfield department, following the injury of N’Golo Kante.
Douglas Luiz of Aston Villa was tipped to be one such name who could make a late move to Stamford Bridge (h/t Metro). And now Villa coach, Steven Gerrard has hinted he may be powerless to stop the player from leaving.
I am not in control of that. That will be Douglas, his agent and what happens around that. I would like to keep him. I think he is in a fantastic player. I have made that abundantly clear. We are not in a position where we need to lose our top players but at the same time Douglas has a year to go.
Luiz has one year left in his current contract and there has been no sign of any progress on a new deal. As such, the Midlands club could be forced to sell one of their star assets at a cut-fee price.
The 24-year-old joined Villa from Manchester City in 2019. Since then, he has gone from strength to strength in every season. A defensive midfielder, he could be the one who Tuchel has been seeking for some time now.
Chelsea fans have been demanding a new midfielder for some time now. Kante is out injured, while Mateo Kovacic is just returning to fitness. Jorginho has had a disappointing start to this season, while Conor Gallagher is nowhere near the form he showed last season on loan.
As such a new face is required and Luiz could be that. At 24, he could potentially play his prime years at the west London club. The 24-year-old was also on the scoresheet in their previous game, when he scored directly from a corner against Arsenal last night after being subbed on a few seconds ago.
But the Blues are not the only ones interested in the Brazilian midfielder. Arsenal and Liverpool are also interested with Sky Sports reporting that one Premier League club is set to bid £20 million for the player. If it is not Chelsea, it will be wise for them to do so.
More Chelsea News:
- Transfer News: Chelsea star Marcos Alonso rejects Inter Milan for Barcelona
- Ross Barkley leaves Chelsea on mutual consent to become free agent
- Forgotten Chelsea man Kenedy in Spain to complete move to La Liga side Real Valladolid
It remains to be seen if the Blues can win the race for the Brazil international. An experienced player, he is also available for a cut-fee price and Chelsea will be wise to sign him up before he joins another rival.