Finances permitting, West Ham United will have a new midfielder in their ranks before the Premier League season kicks off. But what are the chances of Juventus’ Douglas Luiz making a return to English football?
Well, if we were to put a percentage on it right here, right now, Hammers News would struggle to even frame it as a 50/50.
Not only did West Ham rubbish reports of negotiations with Juventus in mid-July, when rumours out of Italy claimed that talks over Douglas Luiz had taken place, the finances involved in a potential deal meant that an agreement was always unlikely to begin with.
The Brazil international allegedly earns £140,000-a-week in Turin.
And if West Ham cannot afford Harvey Elliott or Mateus Fernandes of Liverpool and Southampton respectively – the former is valued at £40 million and the latter at £30 million – then the Daily Mail may have a point when they say that Douglas Luiz’s hefty pay-packet makes a return to the Premier League, and a return to claret and blue, somewhat fanciful.
And, speaking to the media as Douglas Luiz returns to training at Juventus, the club’s new technical director Francois Modesto insists that a flashpoint which looked to have killed off his Bianconeri career a few weeks ago is now water under the bridge.
Juventus director Francois Modesto speaks out as West Ham United’s Douglas Luiz links drag on
The former Manchester City youngster made headlines for all the wrong reasons last month.
Douglas Luiz skipped training, his unauthorised absence leaving Juventus furious, per The Athletic. Perhaps, after a difficult first season during which he had been singled out by unhappy supporters, and with speculation raging, things had just got a little bit too much.
Douglas Luiz has since returned to the camp though, tail tucked between his legs. And, as Modesto explains to Tuttomercatoweb, forgiveness is indeed a virtue.
“He was welcomed back warmly,” says Modesto. “He knows he made a mistake, and we made him understand that. We called him up and made him understand what Juventus is all about. Douglas is very disappointed [in himself].
“Then, it passed and he returned to the team.”
“The player disrespected his teammates,” Damien Comolli, Juve’s general manager formerly of Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool, said in a separate interview with Sky Italia.
“Everyone must respect the shirt they wear. He then apologised to everyone; Players, coaches and me.”
Gabby Agbonlahor says ex-Aston Villa star would be an ‘outstanding’ West Ham signing
This does not mean that Douglas Luiz is now destined to stay at the Allianz Stadium, though.
The Daily Mail reported on Wednesday that, while both Everton and Nottingham Forest are unlikely to see their desires of a loan deal granted, Juventus could accept a reduced fee of £26 million for a midfielder who set them back £42 million a year previously.
The feeling around West Ham, however, is that those £140,000-a-week wages are an issue, if not the transfer fee itself.
Though former Aston Villa captain Gabby Agbonlahor is confident that, if the Hammers do find room in their budget, this would be money very well spent.
“I was devastated when he left Villa. [Youri] Tielemans was outstanding last season so he hasn’t been missed as much but I would love him to come back to Villa,” Agbonlahor said recently. “If West Ham get that over the line, it’s an outstanding signing. He’s a top, top player.
“It hasn’t worked out for him at Juventus. He didn’t play much football last season, he hasn’t turned up for pre-season but I’m all for [a return to England] for him. West Ham, happy days.”
Hammers News understands that West Ham could be priced out by Aston Villa for the £50 million-rated Jacob Ramsey too. The aforementioned Elliott and Fernandes are also on the expensive side, with one pundit suggesting that West Ham should test Tottenham’s resolve for Yves Bissouma.
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