Aston Villa seek Douglas Luiz replacement to ‘open door’ for Arsenal

Mikel Arteta reviews Arsenal's Premier League win over Aston Villa

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Aston Villa are close to agreeing a deal to sign Wolves star Leander Dendoncker, according to reports. That could open the door for Arsenal to complete a deadline day deal for Douglas Luiz.

Arsenal are in the market for a midfielder before the 11pm deadline. Injuries to Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey have seen the Gunners switch their attention from signing a winger.

Leicester star Youri Tielemans has been linked with a move throughout the summer. Meanwhile, Brazilian Danilo also emerged as a target earlier this week.

However, it now appears Villa star Luiz is their top target. And Arsenal may have received a big boost in their attempts to sign the 24-year-old.

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The Mail claims Villa are closing in on an agreement with Wolves for Dendoncker. A fee looks set to be finalised at around £10m.

Dendoncker can play in both defence and midfield and could be deemed a replacement for Luiz. Villa do not want to sell Luiz but signing Dendoncker would soften the blow.

Luiz has entered the final year of his contract at Villa Park. He would be able to talk to foreign clubs about a potential free transfer in January if he stays and does not sign a new deal.

Luiz scored in Villa’s 2-1 loss at Arsenal on Wednesday. And after the match, manager Steven Gerrard was unable to confirm he will stay.

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The Liverpool legend said: “I’m not in control of that. There’s two people, well, there’s more than two people who are in control of that, but I’m certainly not one of them.

“That will be Douglas, that will be his agent and that will be what happens around that. I’d like to keep him, he’s a fantastic player, I’ve made that abundantly clear.

“We are not in position where we need to lose our top players, but at the same time Douglas has a year to go and it is one of them really touchy situations where the club has to do what is best for the club, not necessarily what is best for me.”

But Gerrard could be set to welcome a new face through the door in Dendoncker. The 27-year-old has over 100 Premier League games behind him after initially joining Wolves on loan from Anderlecht in 2018.

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