Arsenal failed to get a Deadline Day deal over the line for Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz but could return with a bid in the January transfer window.
Villa rejected three offers from the Gunners despite technical director Edu's efforts in trying to satisfy Mikel Arteta's demands for a new central midfielder before the summer transfer window slammed shut. Luiz is in the final year of his current deal at Villa Park and is showing no signs of being willing to sign a contract renewal to stay with Steven Gerrard's side.
Gerrard previously admitted that it is 'not in his hands' as to whether the 24-year-old stays at Villa stating that it's up to Luiz and his agent. The Gunners were keen to add a new midfielder to their squad after Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny picked up muscle injuries towards the end of August, though the former is set to return to action for the North London Derby on Saturday.
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As reported by The Sun, Arteta is becoming increasingly concerned about the recurring absence of injury-prone Partey and wants a top-quality alternative to reinforce his squad in the January transfer window. The report adds that the Premier League leaders are likely to offer less than the £23million they were willing to pay just over four weeks ago.
Speaking in his pre-Leeds United press conference, the Villa boss offered an update on Luiz's contract situation at Villa Park admitting he is 'not surprised' about the continued speculation over the 24-year-old's future. Gerrard said: "No news in terms of extending his stay here, so that hasn’t changed.
"But what I would say is that he’s very focused, he’s trained well. Am I surprised by the speculation? No, because we've got a young Brazilian player who's a fantastic talent so I expect to be asked this question a lot as the season progresses.
"We want him to stay here, the owners were very strong in keeping him here, we didn’t obviously want to lose him on the final day and he has performed very well since and he has trained very well and he is ready to go at the weekend."
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