Aston Villa looking to add Brazilian flair to their midfield: Pros and cons of signing the player

Aston Villa could be closing in on their ninth signing of the season, despite spending €100 million ahead of the 2019-20 season on eight players.

The Villans have been the most active club in the Premier League, and could sign Manchester City’s Douglas Luiz. 

Daily Star are reporting that Luiz is one of three players that Villa are interested in, the others being Egyptian winger Trezeguet, and Burnley captain Tom Heaton.

Luiz signed with Manchester City in the summer of 2017, but is yet to make a single appearance for them. He spent the last two seasons on loan at Spanish club Girona, playing 36 games for the club.

With Villa set to sign the 21-year-old midfielder, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of signing him:

Pros

Luiz is a confident and composed figure in midfield, who is unfazed by various situations and keeps the ball ticking.

A player with tremendous energy and determination in midfield, the Brazilian is a player who likes to drift into empty spaces in the centre of the park or out wide and is a good dribbler. He is also being a disciplined figure in midfield when playing with attacking midfielders.

The midfielder is a leader in the middle of the park, which is something that Villa would need from their midfielders in their return to the Premier League. He is a player with good strength, who is difficult to get outmuscled off the ball.

Luiz often looks to pass the ball in the air, averaging 2.9 long balls in the 2018-19 season for Girona, while completing a total of 31.7 on average.

He is also a decent tackler, averaging 1.5 successful tackles per game last season for Girona. Luiz is an all-round midfielder who is a dependable figure in central midfield or defensive midfield positions and is a good box-to-box midfielder.

Cons

The Brazilian doesn’t contribute much in terms of goals or assists, which would be vital for a team that has just got promoted to the Premier League. He did not score a single goal in his two seasons with Girona.

Luiz must also be a little more careful and accurate in his tackling as he committed an average of two fouls per game last season, which could prove to be costly in the Premier League.

Stats via Whoscored.com