Man City are keen to re-sign the £42m star
Are they Manchester City back?
On Sunday, the Sky Blues smashed Ipswich Town 6-0 at Portman Road; Phil Foden putting on a shoulder strap, doc Mateo KovačićJérémy Doku, Erling Haaland and James McAtee were also on the scoresheet for Suffolk.
This is Man City’s joint-the most pronounced best away win of all time, they previously thrashed Watford 6-0 in September 2017, a result that moves them to fourth on goal difference, above Newcastle, unbeaten in six in all competitions ahead of Wednesday’s crucial encounter Champions League trip to Paris Saint-Germain.
And off the pitch, the Citizens remain busier than any other club in this January window, which is set to finish signings Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Husanov and Omar Marmoush this week, costing a combined £120m.
But their consumption is not over yet, with Pep Guardiola also looking to bolster his midfield options.
Manchester City are looking to re-sign the midfielder
According to the report of David Ornstein of the AthleticManchester City are “considering” re-signing Douglas Luiz on loan until the end of the season, doc Juventus willing to sanction such a deal only if an “obligation to buy” is involved.
Luiz joined la Vecchia Signora only from Aston Villa even last summer for a reported £42.5mand Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior move in the opposite direction from Villa for a reported £18 millionbecause the Villanovas sought to avoid a potential violation of the PSR.
However, as he described Adam Digby of ForbesLuiz’s time at Juventus was disastrous, s front page of the Gazzetta dello Sport labeling it a ‘failure’ as early as October.
It came after the most notable of his missteps, awarding a penalty for handball seconds after being introduced as a substitute against RB Leipzig in the Champions League, was spared further consideration as ten-man Juve scored twice late on to win in Saxony.
All in all, Luiz saw right 474 minutes action in a Bianconeri shirt, that’s just over 18% of their total minutes, came on in the last 15 minutes against Atalanta and AC Milan this week, but Thiago Motta clearly doesn’t see him as a key figure.
And his former club Aston Villa as well Nottingham Forest have allegedly showed interest in securing Luiz’s services, but surely Man City would be at the front of the queue for him to return to Premier League.
How Douglas Luiz would improve Manchester City
The Brazilian actually spent two seasons on Man City’s books, signing for Vasco da Gama for a reported £10 million in 2017, but he never played for the sky blues, and spent two seasons on loan in Girona, made 46 appearances for another club owned by City Football Group, before being sold to Aston Villa in 2019 for £15 million.
During your stay in the Villa, Content Strategy Consultant Adam Gilks described Luiz as “one of the best sixes in the Premier League”, impressed by his “great vision and … fantastic work rate”.
This sale included a 20% sale clausewhich proved to be a nice earner for the Citizens last summer, while Man City also had a buyout clause which Jake Bayliss of the Manchester Evening News believes he is “expired in 2021”, stressing that the four-time Premier League champions have long thought Luiz is capable of one day playing for their first team. However, that could change in 2025.
Focus transfer
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big name failures. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across the Football FanCast.
As has been widely documented, Manchester City’s dip in form this season is primarily driven by Rodrijeva ACL injury suffered against Arsenal in September, with Guardiola describing the reign Ballon d’Or winner as “irreplaceable”.
İlkay Gündoğan and Kovačić are doing their best to fill Rodri’s huge void, Croatian starting on the 12th of the 17th Premier League games since the Spaniard’s injury, including each of the last six, but the duo clearly need help, so let’s see how Luiz and Kovacic compare.
Luiz vs Kovačić comparison (23/24 & 24/25) |
||
---|---|---|
Statistics |
Louise |
Kovačić |
Appearances |
74 |
80 |
minute |
4,854 |
5,194 |
Objectives |
9 |
8 |
Assists |
10 |
2 |
Passes attempted |
3,156 |
3,362 |
% of success |
85.9% |
93.5% |
It touches |
3,527 |
3,737 |
Solving |
86 |
90 |
% of dribblers saved |
50.6% |
50.6% |
Interceptions |
30 |
44 |
Blocks |
41 |
44 |
Move apart |
32 |
26 |
Ball recovery |
246 |
174 |
% of duels won in the air |
58.5% |
57.1% |
As the table shows, Luiz is a much bigger goal threat than Kovacic, although that is not what Man City are looking for in a midfield addition this month.
More importantly, Luiz and Kovacic are comparable when it comes to passing, passing accuracy and all metrics out of possession, tackles, interceptions and blocks, with the Brazilian ranking higher for rebounds as well as aerial duels won.
This is impressive considering Villa finished 21 points behind Man City last season, while Luiz has seen very little action since swapping Birmingham for Torino, and these figures suggest he would have no problem breaking into the Sky Blues squad, eight years after joined the club for the first time. .