Douglas Luiz has told fans he is committed to the job in hand at Aston Villa despite being “very happy” to hear stories linking him elsewhere in the Premier League amid reported interest from Arsenal and Liverpool.
Aston Villa‘s impressive first half of the Premier League season leaves the Villa Park natives sat in the Champions League places, and naturally, this has led to interest in their star players.
Arsenal and Liverpool are two Premier League rivals reportedly interested in Douglas Luiz who has been pivotal to the club’s success this season from midfield.
Douglas Luiz breaks silence on rumoured transfer interest
Addressing rumours of interest elsewhere, the Brazilian told Sky Sports: “I am very happy to hear the stories but I am here at Aston Villa.
“My focus is totally here. I don’t spend a lot of time looking at the stories. I see them, but I don’t focus on that and I’m not looking at it every day. My head is here at Aston Villa.
“Aston Villa is a club that opened its doors to me when I came to England, so I have a lot of affection and a lot of love for it.”
Since Unai Emery’s arrival, Villa have been transformed from relegation battlers to Champions League contenders and are now in early contention for a shot at the Premier League title.
With only four points separating them from league leaders Arsenal, the Spaniard continues to take his side to new heights and that is largely down to how he’s transformed the fortunes of several players.
Ollie Watkins has gone from struggling in front of goal to breaking records with his incredible goal scoring under Emery’s tutelage.
In the 2-2 draw against Bournemouth, the Englishman netted his eight of the season and broke a record in the process.
He became only the fourth Aston Villa player to provide 6+ goals and 6+ assists in consecutive Premier League seasons for the club.
In a similar vein to Watkins, Douglas Luiz has followed a similar trajectory after being unleashed from his number six position to become an integral force in the final third for Villa.
Douglas Luiz deserves a new contract
Despite signing a new four-year contract in October 2022, prior to Emery’s arrival, the Brazilian has shown he deserves to be tied down to an improved deal to reflect his rapid upturn in form.
Notoriously a destructive defensive midfielder, the 25-year-old has excelled since being given more positional freedom to unleash his quality further up the pitch.
In 22 appearances in all competitions, Luiz has recorded an impressive six goals and four assists, however, it’s more than just his impact in the final third that has helped drive Villa towards a title challenge.
According to Sofascore, the Villans lynchpin has shown his class across numerous metrics, from his ferocious pressing to win the ball back while unlocking defences with his exquisite passing range.
In the Premier League this term, he’s averaged a whopping 2.4 tackles per game, which is unsurprisingly the most in Emery’s squad, while recording the second most accurate passes per game (55.3 – 89%).
With Luiz describing his manager as ‘incredible’, supporters will hope the former Manchester City man will continue to put in domineering performances at Villa Park for years to come.
