A deal to sign Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz is actively being pursued, football.london understands. Sources at Villa have been insisting that Luiz will not be sold, but with under a year remaining on his current deal, a transfer cannot be ruled out.
Another reason why Villa may be reluctant to sell the Brazilian at a low price is due to a potential sell-on clause. According to Birmingham Live's Aston Villa correspondent Ashley Preece, Manchester City are set to receive 20% from any sale for over £15million that Aston Villa earn from Douglas Luiz.
If a transfer for the Brazilian fails to materialise then it is important that the Gunners attempt to sign an alternative midfielder on deadline day. Mikel Arteta’s options in the middle of the park have been sliced amid injuries suffered to Mohammed Elneny and Thomas Partey and it is important that the Gunners bring in a reinforcement.
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A potential option for the Gunners on deadline day is Denis Zakaria from Juventus. The Switzerland international would seemingly be available for a transfer without the same issues to complete a deal as Luiz.
Chelsea have already looked to explore this option as according to Fabrizio Romano, the Blues have approached the midfielder. Todd Boehly is reportedly offering a loan deal with an option to buy.
According to Italian journalist Fabiana Della Valle, Juventus were in talks with Monaco to sell Zakaria to Ligue 1 side Monaco late in the window. The Bianconeri reportedly believe that Zakaria’s sale could help them bring in a good capital profit.
Granit Xhaka and Partey are two players whose place in the team are currently untouchable. Albert Sambi Lokonga and Elneny are the two backup players, but their levels in terms of experience and quality do not compare with the two starters.
This was epitomised in the Gunners’ victory over Fulham on Saturday evening. While Elneny had a good game, his quality was still not to the level of Partey who completely enhances the midfield. The Ghanaian’s absence is noticeable when he is not in the side.
While it would be unlikely for Zakaria to come in and be an automatic starter, he would bridge the gap between the backup midfielders and the starting players in the middle of the park. It is certainly a transfer that Edu should look to explore.
The Express previously reported that Arsenal were interested in signing the former Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder, in order to solve Arteta’s central midfield problems before he made the transfer switch to Juventus in the last January transfer window.
Zakaria would certainly be a good alternative to Luiz due to his ability to play in either the no.6 or the no.8 role. With Juventus looking to sell the midfielder, it would not be a tough task to get over the line before the close of deadline day for Edu.
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