Arsenal may struggle to sign Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz in January and are now looking at cheaper alternatives.
Arsenal seemingly don’t plan to spend huge money on a midfielder in January despite links to Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz.
That is according to transfer insider Dean Jones, who has been speaking to Give Me Sport about Arsenal’s transfer plans.
Arsenal are expected to target another midfielder in January amid concerns about Thomas Partey’s continued injury problems.
A number of names have already been linked but Villa ace Douglas Luiz is thought to be the top target…
Arsenal looking at ‘cheaper’ Douglas Luiz alternatives
Fabrizio Romano claimed earlier this month that Arsenal view Luiz as their number one January target and the ‘perfect’ signing to bolster Mikel Arteta’s squad.
Arsenal have liked Luiz for a long time now and actually failed with bids to sign him back in 2022.
Villa are now thriving under Unai Emery though and will be commanding huge money for the Brazilian midfielder.
Transfer insider Dean Jones has now told Give Me Sport that a deal for Arsenal to sign Luiz in January is ‘unrealistic’.
Jones believes that Villa will now command more than £60million for Luiz and Arsenal are now looking for ‘cheaper players’ in January.
“I totally think that Douglas Luiz is a good replacement to consider for Thomas Partey, there’s no doubt about that,” said Jones. “I just think it’s unrealistic in January and I’m not even sure it’s realistic in the summer, given the way that Aston Villa are building at the moment, and how well he’s playing.”
“I think that the valuation around him too, you’re looking at upwards of £60m, that’s pretty difficult to achieve. From what I understand Arsenal in January are looking for cheaper players,” he added.
Arsenal will look for calculated January signings
This feels somewhat similar to last January.
Arsenal were interested in signing Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk but weren’t willing to pay the astronomical demands.
Instead, Arsenal pulled off two deals as Mudryk headed to Chelsea instead.
Arsenal paid £27million to sign Leandro Trossard and around £20million to land Polish international defender Jakub Kiwior.
Those were two sensible deals to bolster Arsenal’s squad without absolutely breaking the bank.
It sounds like Arsenal are going down the same route again, hoping to find a gem who will cost a fraction of Villa’s demands for Luiz.
The post 'From what I understand': Reporter claims Arsenal now unlikely to sign 'perfect' January target appeared first on HITC.
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