Douglas Luiz: The unstoppable rise of the man driving Aston Villa's Champions League bid

• Published prior to Aston Villa's 1-0 win over Arsenal

The summit of the Premier League table heading towards Christmas has a pretty familiar look with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City previously occupying the top three spots.

There is a surprise package though threatening to gatecrash the party.

Aston Villa’s terrific start to the campaign sees them right up there with the big guns in fourth place, and pushing for Champions League football under coach Unai Emery.

The backbone of Villa’s surge to prominence has been Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz, a dominant force whose displays have drawn links with both Liverpool and Arsenal ahead of the 2024 transfer windows.

A long road to Villa Park

Emery’s ambition to take Villa right into Europe’s elite could well become a reality with Luiz performing so well in the centre of the park. The 25-year-old would certainly not be out of place based on recent evidence.

Emery once stated that he felt Luiz appeared ‘too relaxed’ when on the ball, but now the Spaniard’s coaching has appeared to have got rid of such issues.

Brought up in Rio de Janeiro, the midfielder was a product of Vasco da Gama's academy before moving to Manchester City in the summer of 2017, landing a five-year contract at the Eithad in the process.

Luiz was swiftly sent on loan to Girona and then forced to spend another campaign there due to complications with the UK Home Office around his visa, with the player being denied a work permit. He finalised a move to Villa in 2019 when it was finally granted.

The promising Brazilian scored his first goal for Villa in a match against Bournemouth and thereafter scored directly from a corner kick in EFL Cup against Bolton, before doing the same against Arsenal in the subsequent week.

He signed fresh terms at Villa in 2022 and the club and its fans awarded him the accolades of Supporter's Player of the Season and Player's Player of the Season.

The Emery effect

That terrific form has carried into this season, where Luiz has been lauded as one of the best-performing midfielders in the Premier League. We have already revealed Arsenal’s resulting interest in him, and Liverpool are also apparently very much in the hunt to sign him.

Talking about that interest, Luiz recently told Sky Sports: "My focus is totally here. I don’t spend a lot of time looking at the stories. I see them, but I don’t focus on that and I’m not looking at it every day. My head is here at Aston Villa.

"Unai, honestly, is an incredible manager. Since he arrived here, he has changed the history of the club. Aston Villa is a very big club in England, but things weren’t going so well. Unai has changed it. Now, people respect the club and the players more

"I believe I am in the best moment of my career. The manager demands a lot from me, and I believe he has helped me a lot as well. I am happier than ever to keep working and continue evolving."

Luiz’s words point to his ambition to become a legend at Villa Park, but it won’t deter those interested in prising him away during the upcoming January window.

How much is Douglas Luiz worth?

Our eTV algorithm (Estimated Transfer Value) values Luiz at €35.2million. He is contracted at Villa until 2026 and we rank him as 1st in Best holding midfielders and 8th in Best Brazilian Players.

What does the data tell us about Douglas Luiz?

According to the data, Luiz is best used as an advanced playmaker who can push into the final third and force turnovers in dangerous positions. Emery typically puts him on the left side of midfield in a 4-4-2 formation, and it’s worked brilliantly so far this season.

Luiz has seven goal contributions in the Premier League so far this season - including five goals. It makes for a decent return of 0.35 goals per 90 minutes. His passes into the final third have improved this season compared to last, rising to 7.81 per 90 minutes from 5.52. His dribbles have almost doubled, too.

The defensive numbers, however, have dropped - Luiz is delivering a lower number of tackles, interceptions, and recoveries. This highlights what Emery has asked him to do - push up and work on contributing to goals rather than anything else.

The comparison of last season and this campaign shows that Luiz is really a complete midfielder, able to successfully perform in the No.6 role and as a No.8 who can find the net and provide assists.

In short, potentially a terrific asset for any of those jealous big guns hoping to acquire him in January.

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