The same day that Marvelous Nakamba was rumoured to be in England for a Villa medical, the club announced Douglas Luiz has signed pending a work permit.

For an undisclosed fee rumoured to be in the region of £15 million, Villa signed the 21-year-old Brazilian from Premier League Champions Manchester City – With high hopes and gleaming reports.

A versatile midfielder, Douglas Luiz is primarily playable as a box-to-box midfielder but can also and probably will be deployed by Villa as a defensive midfielder. He started his career at hometown club Vasco De Gama before Pep Guardiola signed him for Manchester City in 2017 and loaned him out to Girona where he stayed on loan for a second season due to work permit issues.

He played 23 times for Girona last season, averaging a 6.58 rating with 0.9 interceptions and 1.5 key tackles average a game. Going forward he averaged 0.7 shots per game and 0.4 key passes per game. One of his most recent matches for Girona, a 2-1 victory away to Real Madrid, he averaged a 7.72 rating as he starred against the biggest club in the world.

The energetic midfielder, highly rated by Pep Guardiola, does have a buy back clause in his contract and this could cause issues – Ask PSV with Angelino. But for the season ahead, this greatly talented midfielder is Aston Villa’s to keep – And I predict he will start between in Grealish and McGinn or some games replacing McGinn with Nakamba in between himself and Grealish. He is a greatly talented player that caught the attention of Manchester City, and this transfer could prove to be a coup of the summer if he can prove his worth in the Premier League.

Stats: WhoScored.com