Aston Villa tipped to accept ‘£60m’ Douglas Luiz bid from Arsenal – Agbonlahor
Aston Villa could sell Douglas Luiz to Arsenal for “£60million” next summer, according to Gabby Agbonlahor.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Aston Villa’s record Premier League goalscorer claimed Luiz’s new contract could be hiding the club’s plan.
The 24-year-old was the subject of a late-window interest from Arsenal in the summer as he entered the final 12 months of his contract.
The club confirmed last week (14 October) that he had signed a new long-term deal.
“Let’s be honest, Douglas Luiz wanted to leave Aston Villa because Arsenal bid and the club didn’t accept it,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider‘s Connor Whitley.
“Douglas Luiz was in a great position as his contract was up in the summer.
“Sometimes, as a club, you have no choice. Even if you didn’t want to give the player a new contract you are in the position where you have to give him a new contract or he leaves on a free.
“Douglas Luiz would have been paid very, very good wages to commit to sign it.
“He’s done OK but I don’t think, to be honest, he signed the contract because he’s totally committed to Aston Villa. I think he signed the contract because he got the wages he wanted and he worked it well for himself.
“If Villa had accepted the bid from Arsenal, he would have left without looking back.
“It suits him and it suits Villa. They’ve got him tied down so they can’t lose him on the cheap.
“It might come to the summer when they decide to sell him and Arsenal have to pay more.
“Sometimes contracts can hide what is really going on. In the summer, Luiz might go but instead of £20million it might be £50million or £60million.
“The position he’s in, he’s laughing because he’s got his wages up high. I think it suits both the club and the player, to be honest.”
In other news, there has been a major update on Aston Villa’s swoop for Mauricio Pochettino.