‘Obrigado’: Aston Villa sell Douglas Luiz to Juventus for £42.4m

Juventus have confirmed the purchase of midfielder Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa for €50m (£42.4m).

The 26-year-old midfielder played a key role in helping Villa qualify for the Europa Conference League and Champions League over the past two seasons and made over 150 appearances for the club.

Luiz joined Villa from Manchester City in the summer of 2019 after starting his career at Vasco da Gama in his native Brazil.

He made his senior international debut a few months after joining Villa, and won a gold medal for Brazil at the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.

Juventus marked the signing by saying on their club website: “Douglas Luiz embarks on a new adventure with Juventus after five years with Villa, where he has shown exponential growth technically, physically and tactically. Welcome to Juventus, Douglas. We can’t wait to see you on the pitch!”

Elsewhere Saïd Benrahma has completed a permanent transfer from West Ham to Lyon for an undisclosed fee.

The Algeria winger spent the second half of last season on loan at the French club, scoring three times in 12 Ligue 1 appearances. Benrahma joined West Ham from Brentford in October 2020 and registered 24 goals in 155 games for the club.

The 28-year-old was part of the Hammers side which won the 2023 Europa Conference League, scoring a penalty in the 2-1 final win over Fiorentina in Prague.

“Everyone at West Ham United would like to thank Saïd for his contribution and wish him the best for the future,” read a club statement.