Aston Villa coach, Steven Gerrard, has explained why Arsenal failed to sign midfielder Douglas Luiz during the recently concluded summer transfer window.
According to Sky Sports, Aston Villa rejected three bids from Arsenal to sign Luiz this summer, with the final offer worth £25 million.
Luiz is out of contract with Aston Villa next summer, and reports claim the Brazilian would like to play for a team in the Champions League or Europa League.
However, Gerrard has now claimed that Aston Villa blocked the 24-year-old from leaving Villa Park to Arsenal because they did not want to lose him this season.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Aston Villa’s Premier League tie with Manchester City this weekend, Gerrard, a Liverpool legend, said:
“I have got confidence that he [Luiz] will understand the situation and the club’s decision that we didn’t want to lose a very important player and a top player so late in the window.”
He added:
“From a personal point of view, I very much back the club’s decision and stance on that. I spoke to Dougie face-to-face yesterday and he understood where it was at and the position that the club was in. He very much respects the decision. Hopefully it will calm down in the hours and days to come and he will be fine moving forward.”
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