Steven Gerrard has not slammed shut the door on Douglas Luiz potentially exiting Aston Villa before the 11pm transfer deadline on Thursday amid Arsenal, Liverpool and Atlético Madrid transfer links.
The Brazilian midfielder played the final quarter of Villa's loss at the Emirates Stadium, but he did score in freakish fashion from a corner kick that bypassed everyone in the red and white - even Aaron Ramsdale, who pleaded for a foul but to no avail. Prior to the game, there had been some intense speculation surrounding the 24-year-old.
It has been suggested that the likes of Liverpool and Atlético Madrid both could make an eleventh-hour move for his services, and with all of John McGann, Boubacar Kamara and Jacob Ramsey ahead of him in Gerrard's thoughts, an exit has never been improbable for the defensive midfielder.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta confirms Arsenal transfer deadline day plans amid Youri Tielemans and Danilo talk
Arsenal are another club that have been credited with a link to the former Man City man and football.london understands that he is among a list of players that the Gunners have looked at in the past, with January 2022 the last time he was seriously considered by Edu and Co.
Fast forward to this summer and with a new midfielder needed due to the injury situations with Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey, the player whose contract currently runs out in 2023 could reappear in the thinking of the north London hierarchy with £15million expected to be the fee required to prise him away from Villa Park.
That would be a cheaper fee than what is expected for other targets such as Danilo (£20m) and Youri Tielemans (£25m). Whether or not Arsenal divert their attentions solely to the Brazilian international and Premier League regular remains to be seen, but one thing for certain is that his current boss certainly hasn't ruled out any of the possibilities on the table.
"I am not in control of that. There are more than two people in control of that, and I am certainly not one of them," the under-pressured Gerrard said. "That will be Douglas, that will be his agent, that will be what happens. I would like to keep him, he is a fantastic player. I have made that abundantly clear. We are not in a position where we need to lose our top players, but at the same time, Douglas has got a year to go, and it is one of those really touchy situations where the club has to do what is best for the club, not necessarily what is best for me."
Arsenal fans- Would you take Douglas Luiz over Youri Tielemans? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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