Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson claims Manchester City target Douglas Luiz is “one of the most underrated players” in the Premier League.
The Brazilian international scored a brace in Aston Villa’s 4-1 win over West Ham on Sunday and Merson took to X during the game to praise him:
Douglas Luiz got to be one of the most underrated players in the league
— Paul Merson (@PaulMerse) October 22, 2023
Luiz is believed to be on City’s list of targets if they do sell Kalvin Phillips when the transfer window reopens in January.
The England international is not happy with the lack of games he has played since moving to the Etihad Stadium and the likes of West Ham, Fulham, Everton and Newcastle are all keen on securing his services.
Luiz is a former City player
The Aston Villa star spent 2 years with the Citizens, but he didn’t play a single match for the first team, having been sent out on loan to feeder club Girona.
When Luiz was sold to the Villans, a £25m buyback clause was included in the deal but that expired in the summer of 2021. The Brazilian has subsequently been subject to bids from Arsenal but he signed a new contract back in October last year, keeping him in the Midlands until 2026.
Who are City’s other transfer targets?
In addition to Luiz, the Premier League champions are believed to be keeping tabs on Joshua Kimmich’s situation at Bayern Munich. At the moment, the Bundesliga club are not willing to sell the German but that could change next summer.
West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta is also a player who is admired by City but there are complications in a deal going ahead after it emerged that the player may face charges due to betting infringements.