Douglas Luiz's magic mix that has made him the Premier League's most in-demand midfielder
Sam McGuire
- 1 Dec 2023 08:16 GMT
- 7 min read
Eyebrows were raised when Aston Villa parted with £15million to sign Douglas Luiz in 2019. The Brazilian was on the books of Manchester City but spent two years on loan in LaLiga with Girona.
It was a fairly significant outlay for a 5ft9 midfielder with no experience in English, especially when you consider it was Aston Villa’s first season back in the Premier League. Now, though, with Luiz into his fifth season at Villa Park, it looks like one of the best pieces of business the club have done in a long time.
The 10-cap international has developed into a real all-rounder and he’s regularly being linked with clubs plying their trade in the Champions League. In fact, Arsenal had a number of bids rejected for him in 2022 prior to him putting pen to paper on a new deal to keep him with Villa until 2026. While it hasn’t been confirmed, many believe that the contract extension included a favourable release clause. The same sort of thing happened with Alexis Mac Allister and Brighton.
According to new reports, the Gunners have been joined by Liverpool and former club Manchester City in their pursuit of Luiz. The Reds were linked with the Villa No.6 during the final stages of the summer transfer window after missing out on Moises Caicedo. A move didn’t materialise and Jurgen Klopp instead added Ryan Gravenberch to his ranks.
While Arsenal spent big on Declan Rice, there are concerns over the long-term futures of Thomas Partey and Jorginho, and this could well be why Luiz is once again on Mikel Arteta’s radar. In fact, the SciSports' career advice tool gives Arsenal a club fit rating of 84. The only team with a higher rating for Luiz is Bayern Munich.
Manchester City signed Matheus Nunes in the summer but it is clear Pep Guardiola doesn’t exactly have faith in Kalvin Phillips, so perhaps a return to the Etihad could be on the agenda for the 2020 Olympic Gold medalist.
Why is he so in demand though?
Douglas Luiz's unique skillset
It might well be because he can do a bit of everything.
He is tidy and progressive in possession, attempting over 60 passes per 90 and finding a teammate 84% of the time. Luiz is linked to possession-dominant teams so the fact he’s used to seeing a lot of the ball means he’s ticked a vital box. He averages over five progressive passes per 90 while also managing close to two progressive carries. These are impressive figures considering he’s often part of a double pivot in midfield. Luiz doesn’t have the freedom of playing with a third midfielder who can cover transitional situations like so many others in the Premier League.
The 25-year-old is also a goal threat. Yes, he takes penalties but that shouldn’t be held against him. Since the start of last season, he’s notched 11 Premier League goals. Over the same time period, he’s also assisted eight times in the English top-flight.
He’s on target to have his most productive campaign (2022/23 when he found the back of the net six times) this season in terms of goals having already scored five times. There’s every chance he beats last season’s tally of six assists too. He’s on two, he takes set pieces and we’re only just heading into December.
Douglas Luiz does a bit of everything
Luiz ranks well for shot-creating actions and goal-creating actions. He’s also tackling over 50% of the dribblers he faced. While he’s not necessarily extremely active defensively - his numbers aren’t great, he does do a lot of his off-the-ball work in the final third, highlighting how important he is to the Aston Villa press. He might not regain the ball but he plays his part in the opposition turning possession over.
One underrated aspect when analysing a player is their availability. Luiz has racked up over 150 Premier League appearances since the start of 2019/20.
In a nutshell, Luiz retains possession, progresses play, creates chances, scores goals and he’s always available. He’s also a Brazil international with the potential to improve. It is little wonder so many of the big teams in the Premier League are reportedly keeping tabs on him. There are few out there who tick quite as many boxes as he does.
