Chelsea interested in PL midfielder whose contract expires next summer

Chelsea are interested in signing Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz

According to Birmingham Mail, Chelsea are one of the Premier League clubs interested in signing Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz, whose contract expires in less than 12 months’ time.

Arsenal made a move on the deadline day to sign the Brazilian, but all of their three bids were rejected by Villa despite the fact that he could leave for free next summer.

The stance from the Midlands club was that they will not budge from their £40m valuation of the player. Also, they were not keen to part with such a key cog of the squad on the last day of the transfer window.

Now, Luiz can either talk to clubs in January and strike a pre-contract agreement or move to another club in the winter for a very small fee. The latter depends on Aston Villa to a small extent because the ball is in the player’s court.

The 24-year-old was signed by Manchester City in 2017 before immediately getting loaned out to one of their sister clubs Girona. He eventually moved to Villa Park in the summer of 2019 and has been one of the consistent performers there.

Luiz has made 109 league appearances for the Midlands side, mostly playing as a solo defensive midfielder and sometimes as a central midfield in a double pivot.

He possesses great quality on the ball, is mobile enough to cover the ground in midfield and reads the game well. At 24, he is an experienced Premier League player which does not happen very easily. He still has scope to improve in his already well-rounded game, which shows how high his ceiling is.

Chelsea have a problem in midfield. N’Golo Kante (31) and Jorginho (30) are in the same situation as Luiz contract-wise. If the Blues do not agree on an extension with them, they can also talk with clubs from January onwards.

Generally, it is a tough ask for clubs to give contract extensions to players who have turned 30, exceptions aside. Kante’s availability has been a question mark in the last 18 months due to his injuries while no one knows yet whether new manager Graham Potter fancies Jorginho in midfield.

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• Graham Potter approves the appointment of Christoph Freund as the new Chelsea sporting director
• Francis Benali gives his verdict on the late Chelsea bid for Romeo Lavia
• Scott Sinclair is training with Chelsea to prepare for his next move

Keeping all that in mind, Chelsea should look at the prospect of signing Luiz. He is young yet experienced and can get even better under Potter. The Brazilian has the game to work it out at Chelsea.