Football General Manager
Mediaset journalist Gianni Balzarini claims Everton are pursuing the former Aston Villa man and are prepared to offer €30 million for his services. Juventus, however, want around €40m but Balzarini believes a deal could be struck, with the Brazilian heading for the exit door.
Balzarini said: “So we talked about the exit options. There’s Douglas Luiz, who Everton are acting quite seriously for. Juve want to make €40m. A guarantee of €10m plus €30m. Everton are currently reaching €30m overall. I think an agreement will be reached there too. Everyone has their own opinion, for some he’s very strong, for others he’s a dud, you see how in football there are a wide variety of opinions, one diametrically opposed to the other, so everyone has their own opinion, but Douglas Lewis is officially on his way out.”
In recent weeks, Manchester United, Leeds United, and Nottingham Forest have been linked with the midfielder, who struggled in his first season at Juventus following a €51.5m (£44.6m) move from Villa. West Ham are said to be keen on a loan deal but Everton’s offer may convince Juve to sell him to the Merseyside outfit instead. Either way, Luiz may need to move on to reignite his career.
Former Vasco da Gama ace Luiz, who chalked up 27 appearances for Juventus last season but just six of those were starts, is running out of time to find a transfer or loan exit as the summer window slams shut in just under six weeks.
