Aston Villa opinion: Villans have done a mistake by signing Douglas Luiz

According to Birmingham Live, Aston Villa have completed the signing of Brazilian defensive midfielder Douglas Luiz from Man City for a fee of £15million, with the report claiming that the Citizens have inserted a buy-back clause in the youngster’s deal.

The 21-year-old becomes Villa’s tenth signing of the summer transfer window. 

Birmingham Live understands that Man City would be able to bring Luiz back to the Etihad in the future for a nominal fee should they wish to trigger the buy-back clause, as per the terms and conditions inserted in the deal.  

The news of Luiz’s arrival at Villa Park comes just a day after Egyptian winger joined the Lions from Turkish club Kasimpasa as manager Dean Smith’s ninth signing of the summer. 

With two weeks still remaining before the transfer deadline in August, it looks quite likely that the newcomers are going to continue their spending spree.

It is has been a very busy pre-season period for the Lions, both on and off the pitch, with the likes of Jota, Wesley Moraes, Ezri Konsa, Matt Targett, Trezeguet, Douglas Luiz and Bjorn Engels coming through the door.

Permanent deals for last season’s loanees Anwar El Ghazi, Tyrone Mings and Kortney Hause have also been confirmed. 

Now, as we have seen over the years, there is no guaranteed formula for success in the Premier League as far as the promoted teams are concerned.

While some opt to show faith in the group that got them promoted to the top-flight, others are of the opinion that a huge squad overhaul is the right course of action to thrive in the Premier League. 

Well, Villa have chosen the latter path, and whether or not they have done the right thing by bringing in so many fresh faces from different leagues in Europe is something that only time will reveal. 

Villa’s extravagant spending this summer has drawn comparisons with Fulham’s strategy of mass recruitment prior to the start of the 2018-19 campaign, although the fans at Villa Park have every reason to expect big things from their new signings when the upcoming season gets underway in August. 

Talking about Villa’s recruitments this summer, it would be fair to say that the Lions have, indeed, brought in anybody and everybody and Smith has a massive job on his hands to somehow integrate so many new players into his plans and extract the best out of them. 

Realistically, it might be harsh to criticize the recruitment policy even before the season has started but something that needs to be mentioned here is that Villa haven’t at all emphasized on the importance of having Premier League experience in their squad.

It is sometimes an overstated trait but having Premier League experience in the squad is an indispensable asset to the survival of any promoted team.

To put things into perspective, all the ten signings to have come through the door this summer, barring Matt Targett, have little or no prior experience of playing in the English top-flight.

Hence, Villa could be in a massive hole should each of them struggle to get to grips with the intense level of competition next season. 

The likes of Konsa, Hause, Mings and Engels at the back are all promising young defenders but neither has got the know-how to cope with the demands of playing in the Premier League.

The same applies to Douglas Luiz, who spent the last couple of seasons on loan at Girona following his arrival at Man City in 2017 from Brazilian club Vasco da Gama. 

Luiz didn’t do anything extraordinary on his loan spell in the La Liga and struggled to nail down a regular starting role, as Girona ultimately suffered relegation. 

As well as the risk of bringing in an unproven talent, the inclusion of a buy-back in the deal makes Villa the obvious losers, given that Man City showed the significance of a buy-back clause earlier this summer by bringing lack left-back Angelino from PSV Eindhoven.

The Lions might eventually have to let him depart in the future if Man City choose to trigger that option. Plus, obtaining a work permit for him continues to be a major stumbling block, given that Man City’s plea for a work permit was rejected last summer.

Looking at things from the tactical point of view, Villa could have done better by bringing in a proven Premier League quality holding midfielder to add more depth, steel and reliability to their ranks, which already consists of the likes of Conor Hourihane, John McGinn, Henri Lansbury and Jack Grealish. 

All the three aforementioned names did exceptionally well in the Championship the last term but, again, barring Grealish to some extent, the other two have hardly ever played in the Premier League.

Hence, Luiz, who is also a complete newcomer to English football, might find it difficult to acclimatise to the conditions, thus defeating the whole purpose of the move. 

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It might be an unpopular opinion but Villa need to look at some bargain deals for a few proven Premier League players before the deadline, having already splashed the cash on such unproven talents this summer.