Why Chelsea decided not to sign Douglas Luiz ahead of Aston Villa

Douglas Luiz of Nottingham Forest seen during the Premier — Douglas Luiz is set to return to Aston Villa (Getty)

Douglas Luiz is closing in on a return to Aston Villa after Chelsea opted not to follow up their interest in the midfielder.

The 27-year-old has undergone a medical on Thursday ahead of his loan move to Villa, who also have the option to make the deal permanent for £21 million plus add-ons.

Luiz spent the first half of the season on loan at Nottingham Forest from Juventus, but the Brazilian made just eight Premier League appearances due to a hamstring injury.

Earlier this month, Chelsea had made an approach to Juventus over a deal for Luiz but were only willing to push ahead with a straight loan option with no obligation to buy.

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Luiz was intent on returning to Villa having already spent five years at the club.

Douglas Luiz made just eight Premier League appearances during his loan spell with Nottingham Forest (Getty)

Chelsea also decided against a move to Luiz as they want to give more playing time to Andrey Santos, who flourished under Liam Rosenior on loan at Strasbourg.

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‘Chelsea were interested in him, they evaluated a short-term deal for him,’ Ornstein told Sky Sports.

‘Ultimately, they decided not to crack on with that and they are going to prioritise the likes of Andrey Santos and their existing options.

‘I spoke to so many people who said for Douglas Luiz it was only Aston Villa, he was fixated on it, he obviously had such fond memories from his previous spell.

‘I think he only left because of the PSR situation at Villa, otherwise he probably would have stayed. Remember that January when Arsenal came for him with three, four, five bids and Villa stood firm and they knew the player was so committed he signed a new contract after that.’

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