Tottenham transfer news: Fresh claim emerges over mysterious bid for £31.5m star

Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has revealed that it has been suggested to him that one of Tottenham Hotspur or Arsenal made a big bid to sign Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa in the January transfer window.

The Brazilian midfielder was linked with a potential exit from the club throughout the month as Villa made aggressive moves to strengthen Steven Gerrard’s squad.

The club made moves to bolster Gerrard’s squad and boost the club’s chances of a top-10 finish this term.

Throughout January, they managed to sign Lucas Digne from Everton, while also bringing Calum Chambers in on a free transfer from Arsenal.

The most headline-grabbing acquisition saw Philippe Coutinho move to the club on loan from Barcelona, while the club also signed goalkeeper Robin Olsen on loan from AS Roma.

There were a number of short-term exits too, as Matt Targett joined Newcastle United, Anwar El Ghazi moved to Everton, and Wesley, Keinan Davis, Jed Steer, Cameron Archer and Jaden Philogene-Bidace moved to Internacional, Nottingham Forest, Luton Town, Preston North End and Stoke City respectively.

Villa could also have lost Luiz, though, as he was heavily linked with a potential departure, and The Daily Mail have reported that the club actually rejected three bids for Luiz, including a deadline day £25m move from Spurs. Transfermarkt value him at £31.5m. 

Bridge has now revealed that he has been given conflicting information over the move, with sources telling him that both Spurs and Arsenal made an offer for the Brazilian.

He told GiveMeSport: "Douglas Luiz, the Brazilian midfielder. There was talk of a bid from an unnamed Premier League club. People said to me it was Tottenham, people said to me it was Arsenal."

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