A fresh insight into the future of transfer-linked Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz has been provided on Thursday evening.

The name of Brazilian international Luiz has of course taken its place front and centre in the media headlines over the course of the week to date.

This comes amid widespread speculation that the 23-year-old could soon seal a departure from the Midlands.

Luiz’s contract at Villa Park is due to expire in the summer of 2023, with it understood that the player himself is stalling on putting pen-to-paper on fresh terms, amid considerable interest in his signature.

Such uncertainty surrounding the future of the club’s midfield enforcer even culminated in suggestions that Steven Gerrard and co. have begun seeking out replacements, with Juventus star Rodrigo Bentancur one such player tipped to link up with the Claret and Blue.

If the latest word doing the rounds in the media late on Thursday is anything to go by, however, then, in fact, a fresh twist could yet be in the tale.

As per a report from the reliable John Percy of The Telegraph, talks between Villa and Luiz will soon be opened over the terms of a new contract.

This comes with the Brazilian ‘valued very highly’ by new boss Steven Gerrard, who evidently views Luiz as central to his rebuilding project at the club.

Gunners concerns

Whilst news of Luiz potentially being set to stay put at Villa Park will no doubt be met with widespread delight on the part of the Villans faithful, over at Premier League rivals Arsenal, on the other hand, it will come as just another blow amid a frustrating January transfer window to date.

The Gunners’ chief target to reinforce Mikel Arteta’s ranks in the middle of the park is understood to come in the form of Olympique Lyonnais standout Bruno Guimaraes.

Guimaraes, however, now appears primed to link up with newly-minted Newcastle United instead.

Arteta and co., in turn, swiftly turned their attentions towards fellow countryman Luiz, but such a move now appears increasingly unlikely, too, forcing the transfer team at the Emirates to face up to the very real possibility that Arsenal’s midfield woes simply won’t be resolved ahead of the 2nd half of the campaign.

 

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