Douglas Luiz replacement found, 28 y/o surely worried: Evans drops big AVFC update - opinion

Gregg Evans has reported that Aston Villa are set to go back in for midfield target Yves Bissouma when the summer transfer window opens.

Aston Villa were indeed looking to bring in another impressive recruit during January alongside Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne when it emerged that Bissouma was firmly on their radar as Steven Gerrard looked to improve his midfield.

However, the Mali international had a price tag of no less than £45 million on his head and was away at the Africa Cup of Nations, so would not have been able to arrive in the Midlands immediately, anyway. However, in the summer he’ll have just 12 months left in his contract, so could be a lot easier to land.

So what could be in store for Villa if they pulled the signing off?

If Bissouma was to arrive, it could be argued that he would immediately go into the team in place of Douglas Luiz as they play in similar positions. Indeed, their stats are nowhere near the same, as Bissouma leads the league in percentage of tackles won, whereas Luiz has won just 36.1% of his, compared to Bissouma’s 81.3% (as per FBRef).

Having someone like Bissouma who can essentially operate as a solid holding midfielder and comfortably protect the back four would help Aston Villa become a lot more front-footed if they know they’ve got someone who will gladly shepherd the defence all game.

There were reports in January suggesting that Luiz could be leaving Villa, and if that’s the case, it would make sense for them to cash in and spend that money recruiting someone younger and better equipped to play as a holding midfielder, so it may not be impossible to see Luiz’s future having an effect on their interest in Bissouma.

If Luiz should be thinking about his future beyond this season