Aston Villa Agree £15m Deal for Man City Midfielder Douglas Luiz But Face Work Permit Battle

Aston Villa have agreed a £15m deal with Manchester City for the signing of Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz. 

Luiz joined City from Vasco de Gama for around £10.8m back in 2017, but was unable to obtain a work permit to play in England. Therefore, he has thus never actually played for his parent club, instead joining sister outfit FC Girona on a two-year loan.

In those two seasons in Spain he has made 46 appearances across competitions, making quite a name for himself. Pep Guardiola was understood to be keen on bringing the defender back to the Etihad, but work permit issues have persisted. 

According to a report from BBC Sport, Villa have agreed on a £15m fee for the Brazil Under-23s captain and are hopeful he will finally be granted a work permit.

The regulations have been made stricter in recent times, with players hailing from nations inside the top 10 of FIFA's rankings required to have played 30% of their side's international fixtures in the last two years to be guaranteed a permit. 

As of yet, Luiz has not been capped at senior level, however, there is an 'Exceptions Panel', which can grant permits to clubs based on the ‘experience and value’ said player could have. 

And, the ​Villans are confident that the fact that Luiz now has two years of European football under his belt and that they are willing to make him their fourth most expensive transfer of all-time will be enough to persuade the panel. 

He would become Villa's eighth signing of the summer, following the arrival of Jota, Anwar El Ghazi, Kortney Hause, Wesley Moraes, Matt Targett, Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa.