Arsenal are set to battle Liverpool for the signing of Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa as Edu looks to satisfy Mikel Arteta's transfer demands.
The Gunners are thought to be targeting a new central midfielder before the transfer deadline after Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny picked up injuries this week. Edu has already secured the signings of Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabio Vieira, Matt Turner and Marquinhos, with Arsenal spending over £100million for a second successive summer.
Douglas Luiz has been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium with the Brazilian attracting interest from top clubs in the Premier League and across Europe. The 24-year-old is in the final year of his contract at Villa Park but Steven Gerrard is keen to tie Luiz down to a new deal and ward off interest from the likes of the Gunners, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham.
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Aston Villa are hoping to convince Luiz to stay at the club by offering the midfielder a bumper new contract, according to The Daily Mail. Atletico Madrid are among a host of clubs, including Arsenal, interested in the Brazilian and could test Villa's resolve with a £20million bid before deadline day.
It is thought that the west Midlands side would reject an offer in the region of £20million in favour of holding out for a higher fee, but Luiz being in the final year of his deal puts Villa at a disadvantage in terms of negotiating. The 24-year-old is likely to weigh up his options with the temptation to move to a side playing European football potentially on offer.
Arsenal face Villa in the Premier League tonight and could get a closer look at the player before deciding whether to pursue a deal. Luiz can play as a no.6 or no.8 and has scored six goals, providing a further eight assists from a deeper role across 115 games in all competitions for the Villans.
Youri Tielemans remains of interest to Arsenal, but the club are willing to wait until next summer to sign the 25-year-old on a free transfer when his contract expires at the King Power Stadium, football.london understands. The Foxes have received a bid in the region of £19million from a 'mystery club', which could see the Gunners accelerate plans to sign Tielemans or turn their focus on pursuing a deal for Luiz.
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