Douglas Luiz reportedly to stay at Aston Villa with Manchester City passing up on buyback-option

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Douglas Luiz will remain with Aston Villa with Manchester City passing up on the option to re-sign the midfielder.

According to the Express and Star, the Premier League champions will activate their buyback clause to sign Luiz this summer.

The 23-year-old has been a crucial clog of Villa’s impressive 2020/21 season, with the youngster making 33 league appearances.

No return to Manchester

City’s buyback clause expires this Saturday, with City needing to pay £27.5m if they are to re-sign midfielder. Yet it appears that Pep Gardiola’s side will not be exercising this option.

Indeed, the Manchester club could be searching for a replacement for captain Fernandinho this summer, who is yet to decide on his future.

Speaking to HITC, former Premier League striker Emile Heskey claimed that Luiz could be a good replacement for Fernandinho at City.

The ex-England international said: “I think they would definitely be looking at (Luiz). He had a reasonable season with Aston Villa (in 2019/20), he’s really strong as a holding midfielder. We’ve seen it (the potential to replace Fernandinho).”

Douglas Luiz is key for Villa’s future

Luiz was a polarising figure for Villa last season. Whilst the midfielder did have some impressive performances for Dean Smith’s side, supporters were often frustrated with the 23-year-old, who was occasionally sloppy and made rash decisions in the middle of the park.

Yet these traits are common for a player of Luiz’s age. The midfielder has still shown enough bright sparks to prove himself as a key member of the Villa squad and the club’s future.

As a full Brazilian international, as well, Villa have a player on their hands who will not only develop over the coming years, but could also be worth plenty in the transfer market given his nationality, skillset and Premier League experience.