Why Aston Villa still miss Douglas Luiz ahead of his return with Juventus in the Champions League – despite playing just 312 minutes since his £42m summer move to Italy
It sums up Aston Villa‘s tumultuous summer window that there will be no trace of their most significant transfer deal when they meet Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Knowing they needed a big sale in June to avoid a possible 10-point deduction for breaking Premier League spending rules, Villa allowed key midfielder Douglas Luiz to join Juventus in a £42million agreement that included Samuel Iling Jr and Enzo Barrenechea, who were fringe players for the Serie A side.
Iling Jr and Barrenechea were despatched on loan to Bologna and Valencia respectively, with boss Unai Emery believing neither can deliver in the Premier League this season.
Luiz misses this clash through injury but even if he had been fit, the Brazilian would probably not have played a major role. Luiz has played only 312 minutes under new Juventus coach Thiago Motta, starting just twice. It is understood he has struggled with the intensity of some of Motta’s training sessions, especially the drills on defensive positioning.
Indeed, Luiz has been pushed to the fringes in Italy to such an extent that supporters have wondered whether he might return to Villa Park – though Emery batted away that idea on Tuesday. ‘He must meet the challenge there with his quality and help them to get their objective collectively,’ he said.
‘I am not thinking about him wanting to leave there, but I don’t know. I think he is now injured.’ The irony is that Luiz might have come in extremely handy for Villa right now.
Douglas Luiz’s 10 goals and 10 assists last season were key in Villa’s march to fourth place
But the Brazilian has played just 312 minutes under new coach Thiago Motta, starting just twice
Luiz might have come in extremely handy for Unai Emery’s stuttering Aston Villa right now
His 10 goals and 10 assists last season were a key factor in Villa’s march to fourth place but the relationship with boss Unai Emery had become somewhat tense by the end.
Anyone who saw Emery bawling in Luiz’s face during the first half of last season’s Europa Conference League tie against Olympiacos at Villa Park, which Villa lost 4-2, would have realised that not everything in the garden was rosy.
Emery orders his players to operate at maximum focus not just in games and training sessions, but during the long afternoon analysis meetings, too.
‘Your lifestyle outside the club is reflected inside,’ Emery has said. ‘The mentality is to think football and show high commitment to your club and your team-mates.’
While there is no suggestion Emery was uncomfortable with Luiz’s lifestyle, he and his staff had started to believe the 26-year-old had taken his eye off the ball ever so slightly. That is why, when Villa knew they would need to make at least one big sale to meet profitability and sustainability regulations, Luiz was the man to go. For Juventus, it was a handy way to move Iling Jr and Barrenechea off the books. Expect Villa to try to do the same across the next two or three windows.
While those reasons may have been sound, Villa have not come close to finding a central midfield pairing as effective as the Luiz-Boubacar Kamara axis. Each needed the other, with Luiz’s levels dropping after Kamara was injured, but they dovetailed beautifully. With Kamara still struggling with injury, the current pairing of Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana have not yet reached the heights of Kamara and Luiz. They gave Emery control in the middle and Villa have not rediscovered it.
‘We must be stronger defensively in everything, starting with the ball and trying to dominate matches,’ said Emery. ‘But I have confidence because the players have showed the capacity to respond and react quickly.’
While this is no time to panic, Villa are not what they were a year ago. In early December, Emery’s men defeated Manchester City and Arsenal in the space of four days.
Douglas Luiz returns to Villa Park for the first time since his summer move on Wednesday
Tyrone Mings (left) and Ollie Watkins train ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League tie
This term, though they are only three points adrift of Chelsea in third spot, and well-placed in the Champions League, their only ‘statement’ victory was over Bayern Munich. They have lost to Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool, and only drew with a faltering Manchester United side in the final part of Erik ten Hag’s reign.
After tackling Juve, Villa travel to Chelsea on Sunday before they face winnable home matches against Brentford and Southampton. While they should have enough to see off those teams, it is tempting to wonder whether, under Emery, Villa will be capable again of reaching the heights of last season.
Consider the evidence. Transfer chief Monchi has said publicly that Villa’s best way of generating revenue is through player sales. Luiz’s departure helped Villa fall on the right side of the line but his replacements have not yet reproduced his output.
Even if Villa qualify for the Champions League again, PSR guidelines may mean at least one more high-profile sale. If they not, there may be more. Then there is Emery’s ultra-intense approach. Though successful, it wrings every last drop of mental and physical energy from the squad.
Villa may well beat Juventus on Wednesday and will surely finish comfortably in the top half of the table again. Yet Villa’s league performances across the year in 2023 were exceptional – 85 points from 42 games, a fraction more than two per match, with 48 goals conceded. Across 2024, their average is 1.5 per game and they have already let in 53 goals, which shows how difficult it is to maintain certain standards.
Understandably, most Villa supporters will not hear of any doubts about the Emery regime, and there are surely more good times ahead but in six winless matches, tiny cracks have started to appear. Emery needs to fix them fast.
