Aston Villa reject £30m bid for Douglas Luiz from Premier League rival

Aston Villa have rejected a bid of £30million for midfielder Douglas Luiz from a Premier League rival.

The club is not Arsenal although they are understood to be interested in the 23-year-old Brazilian international, but any move depends on the future of Bruno Guimaraes.

Newcastle United remain hopeful of sealing a £30million deal to sign Guimaraes from Lyon with a decision on whether the transfer has been agreed expected within the next few hours.

Arsenal had also shown an interest in Guimaraes but may move for his compatriot Luiz if they miss out. Luiz had previously worked with Mikel Arteta at Manchester City and the Arsenal manager is a known admirer.

Villa have already turned down a substantial bid from another Premier League club for Luiz but may be willing to do business if they secure Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, having made the Uruguayan international their number one choice after a £25million bid for Brighton’s Yves Bissouma was rejected.

Villa are seeking a defensive midfielder following an injury to Marvelous Nakamba and have been negotiating a £16million deal for 24-year-old Bentancur.

Whether they are then willing to allow Luiz to leave remains to be seen although he has less than 18 months left on his current contract and manager Steven Gerrard has said the club is yet to open talks over a new deal.

Arteta wants to strengthen his midfield before the transfer deadline on Monday while Roma have not given up hope of finally signing Granit Xhaka having attempted to bring him in as one of Jose Mourinho’s first recruits last summer. Roma first have to sell Amadou Diawara.

Arsenal have been long-term admirers of Bruno, who joined Lyon from Athletico Paranaense in 2020, and is widely regarded as one of