Juventus won’t give Aston Villa the player they really want in Douglas Luiz

Aston Villa have been at the negotiating table with Juventus for several weeks as both Champions League clubs (which must feel good to Villa fans) look to finalize a Douglas Luiz-centred deal swap agreement.

The Brazilian defensive midfielder is clearly looking for a new challenge after another excellent season at Aston Villa, in which he scored nine goals and provided six assists while averaging 2.4 assists per game. The combined performance of tackles and interceptions provides a high-quality defense.

Juventus have been pushing for Luis as part of a midfield revamp, initially trying to move American midfielder Weston McKennie to Aston Villa, but the midfielder of choice now appears to be Floro Enzo Barrenechea on loan from Signone and winger Samuel Illing-Junior (a previous transfer target of Villa).

However, the most intriguing player on Juventus’ transfer market is right-winger Mathias Sule, who is on loan to Frosinone himself and one of Serie A’s best playmakers.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Juventus have excluded Sule from transfer negotiations with Aston Villa because they believe that the 21-year-old Argentine genius is worth 40 million euros.

That seems to be about what Juventus think Luiz is worth, although Aston Villa may of course have a different view on the midfielder who has been linked with the likes of Arsenal and Barcelona.

Sule plus either Barrenechea or Illin Junior for Luiz seems like a fair deal, but it looks like Juve are looking to send 25 million euros plus two players to Aston Villa for Douglas Luis and raise all the cash the club can when Sule moves to the Premier League.

Juventus have suffered financially in recent seasons, which has affected their ability to compete for the Serie A title – which Inter Milan (twice), AC Milan and Napoli have all won since the Bianconeri’s last title.

Sule might be the ideal choice as a former playmaker in second midfield following the departure of Luiz, but it looks like Monchi will have to do a lot of haggling to force a move for Sule from Juventus.