‘You know what that means’ – Aston Villa fans anticipating a move from Man City for Douglas Luiz

Aston Villa Fans have been reacting to reports that claims Fernandinho is set to leave the Club at the end of the season as that could see Pep Guardiola ramp up his efforts to to prise Douglas Luiz back from Villa Park.

The 35-year-old is in his eighth season with the Citizens and has made 320 appearances for the English club in all competitions since his arrival from Shakhtar Donetsk.

According to The Mirror, Fernandinho is set to leave Etihad at the end of the season, after telling friends that he does not expect to be handed another renewal. 

The report claims that the South American is attracting interest from clubs in Brazil and the MLS, and has not ruled out joining New York City.

Fernandinho triggered an automatic 12-month extension to his current terms in the summer, after featuring in over 70 per cent of games last season. 

He is free to talk to clubs in January and City insiders claim the former Shakhtar Donetsk star is ready to step aside as Pep Guardiola revamps his squad. 

Now Fernandinho is set to depart with some Villa fans anticipating a move from City for Douglas.

“You know what that means,” one Villa fan said as quoted by Birmingham Mail upon hearing the Fernandinho news while another simply added: “Pain.”  

“He’s going nowhere,” said a third and another says: “I know what this means.”

Douglas has impressed since leaving the Etihad Stadium and may yet be lured back to the north west from the West Midlands as the Citizens still have a buyback clause to bring Douglas Luiz back to the club.

The 22-year-old joined the Etihad Stadium outfit from Vasco da Gama in the summer of 2017, signing a five-year contract. However, he was immediately loaned to Girona where he spent the whole season. 

The UK Home Office denied him a work permit in 2018, prompting the club to loan him to the Spanish side again and he featured in 46 games across all competitions over both campaigns. He later joined Villa for around £15 million.

A chance to finally play for Man City could be on the cards, and it will be interesting to see what happens.

Is Douglas Luiz good enough to move back to Man City? 

The holding midfielder has been instrumental in City’s success over the past seven years, and a successor to this holding role will no doubt be top of Guardiola’s wishlist when Fernandinho does leave the club. 

Luiz forward thinking and neat passing between the lines provided rare glimpses of quality in a game utterly bereft of any class. Not only is he a threat going forward, he is a constant safety net in front of a vulnerable Villa backline.