Aston Villa confirm Douglas Luiz sale - two players to join from Juventus
- Villa forced into selling key player to comply with Premier League PSR
- Brazilian midfielder pens five-year contract at Juventus
- Samuel Iling Jr and Enzo Barrenechea expected to head other way and join Villa
Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz has joined Juventus on a five-year deal following weeks of negotiations.
Villa, who will participate in next season's Champions League, have been forced to sell the 26-year-old Brazilian in order to comply with Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules, with a deal forced through before financial accounts must be filed on June 30.
Luiz, who joined Villa from Manchester City five years ago, is expected to cost the Italian giants in the region of €50m, broken down into four separate instalments. He arrives just weeks after Juventus confirmed Thiago Motta as their new head coach, replacing Massimiliano Allegri.
Crucially, Luiz's departure is set to see Villa over the line in terms of their finances, avoiding a potential Premier League points deduction.
With a new financial window on the horizon, Villa are expected to take winger Samuel Iling-Junior and midfielder Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus. Fabrizio Romano reports that the pair are expected to head to the Premier League in separate deals worth €22m (£18.6m).
Villa have already sold Tim Iroegbunam to Everton for a fee of £9m, having sanctioned the sale of Morgan Sanson to Nice eight days prior.
Young academy graduate Omari Kellyman has also departed Villa for Chelsea in a move worth just shy of £20m – further indication of how much money the club needed to raise in order to be compliant with the Premier League's spending rules.
With Luiz's exit now confirmed, Villa can start planning to strengthen their squad ahead of their return to the Champions League. Unai Emery's side proved their doubters wrong last season to seal a fourth-place Premier League finish, inspired by the goals of Ollie Watkins and performances from the likes of Leon Bailey, John McGinn and Moussa Diaby.
Luiz played a huge part in Villa's success too, contributing nine Premier League goals from central midfield and plenty of assists as the club scored 76 times in their league 38 games.
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