Arsenal look are pursuing a deal to sign Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa ahead of making a move for Leicester City star Youri Tielemans.
The Gunners are searching for a new central midfielder to sign before the transfer window slams shut tonight following injuries to Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny. football.london understands Arsenal have already agreed personal terms with Tielemans, but stalled on signing the Belgian midfielder as they are willing to wait until next summer to sign the 25-year-old on a free transfer when his contract expires.
Reports suggest the north London outfit are willing to pay up to £25million for Luiz despite the Foxes setting a similar asking price for Tielemans. Mikel Arteta is hopeful that technical director Edu can secure one last deal this summer to strengthen the squad heading into a busy period of fixtures throughout September and October.
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Arsenal have started the Premier League season by winning all five of their opening league fixtures, sitting top of the table ahead of a huge clash against Manchester United. Luiz showed his quality against Arsenal last night after coming on as a substitute for Villa and scoring a freak corner kick goal before Gabriel Martinelli quickly responded with a winning goal 151 seconds later.
Sources at Villa remain adamant that the Brazilian midfielder is not for sale and the club will rebuff any approaches made for the 24-year-old who has just one year left on his current deal at Villa Park. football.london understands Luiz is among a list of players that the Gunners have looked at, with January 2022 the last time he was seriously considered by Edu and Co.
Arsenal's pursuit of the Villa star hints that the club view a deal for Luiz as better value compared to looking to sign Tielemans from Leicester this summer. The Brazilian is said to be keen on a move to the Emirates Stadium and has shown no indication of signing a new contract at Villa Park.
Villa boss Steven Gerrard seemingly opened the door for Luiz to leave the club on Deadline Day during his post-match press conference following the defeat to Arsenal. Gerrard said: “I’m not in control of that. That will be Douglas, his agent and what happens around that.
“I’d like to keep him, he’s a fantastic player. I’ve made that abundantly clear. We’re not in a position where we need to lose our top players but at the same time Douglas has got a year to go and it is one of those really touchy situations where the club has to do what is best for the club, even if it is not necessarily best for me.”
It remains to be seen whether Arsenal can agree a fee to sign Luiz from Villa before the transfer deadline tonight, but football.london understands the Gunners are now exploring the possibility of completing a deal for the 24-year-old. The Brazilian midfielder has attracted interest from the likes of Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, but it's Arsenal who are now looking to wrap up a deal with just hours to go on Deadline Day.
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