Aston Villa sold Douglas Luiz to Juventus for £42m last summer
Douglas Luiz of Juventus(Image: Juventus FC via Getty Images)
Douglas Luiz admits he is missing playing for Aston Villa after struggling for form at Juventus this season.
The Brazilian midfielder was sold to Juventus for £42 million last summer, as Villa needed to balance their books to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
The club faced the threat of a double-digit points deduction had Luiz not been sold before the June 30 accounting deadline, following the earlier sales of Tim Iroegbunam and Omari Kellyman.
Luiz played a key role in Villa’s rise under Unai Emery, scoring nine league goals and providing five assists last season.
However, things haven’t unfolded as Luiz might have hoped in Turin. He struggled with injuries in the early stages of the campaign and was unable to secure a regular spot in former manager Thiago Motta’s team.
The 27-year-old, who signed a contract with Juve through 2029, has made 25 appearances this season, starting only six of those games. He has yet to register a single goal or assist – an unexpected statistic given how influential he was in the final third at Villa.
Speaking on his Twitch channel, Luiz expressed how much he misses playing for the club.
“I miss Villa, guys,” he said. “I miss playing in Villa Park. I miss everything. Always in my heart.”
He has been criticised by large sections of the Juventus fanbase for his slow start to life there.
Replying on social media to a supporter who questioned whether he’d made the switch to Italy simply to take photos, Luiz hit back by insisting that he had hoped for a better introduction to Italian football and to Serie A, but all he can now do is knuckle down and prove his worth in his second campaign.
“I didn’t come here just to post photos, no one else did that, and I want things to be different. I came here with a purpose,” Luiz posted on Instagram. “I listened to my heart when I arrived and decided to sign. Now I want you to answer me: why has a signing like mine not played two consecutive games with this shirt?
“You can say what you want to the press later: ‘Oh, Douglas is not fit’. Am I not fit? I did the whole preseason and played every game. I had just had one of the best seasons of my career, one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
“Injuries have hindered me, yes, but how long was I on the bench when I was healthy? A lot. These injuries were not normal. I have never been a player who gets injured, but there are so many things that could have caused this that I would prefer not to comment on. I will continue to do everything for this club, even if it is difficult at times, but you can count on me!”
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