Man City’s Douglas Luiz sell-on clause explained as Aston Villa star linked with Juventus transfer

Douglas Luiz’s transfer from Aston Villa to Juventus could help bolster Manchester City’s summer transfer kitty.

Despite an excellent campaign for Unai Emery’s side, reports have suggested that Luiz might be moved on before the end of the month with Villa concerned about their financial situation.

Indeed, the club’s co-owner Nassef Sawiris revealed in an interview with the Financial Times that he is considering taking legal action against the Premier League over their Profit and Sustainability Rules, which he referred to as ‘anti-competitive’.

It’s a similar stance to that of City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who last week called on the league to apply more ‘sensibility’ regarding its spending regulations.

In the meantime, Villa could part with Luiz in the coming weeks, a player who started 35 Premier League matches in 2023/24 and provided nine goals and five assists. 

Sky Italia claim the 26-year-old could move for a fee of €20m (£18.7m), with Weston McKennie and Samuel Iling Jr moving in the other direction. Any transfer would be of interest to City, who retain a 20 percent sell-on fee of any future transfer.

Luiz moved from the Etihad to Villa in 2019 after the West Midlands club had secured promotion back to the Premier League, although the Brazilian spent his two years on City’s books on loan at Girona. A switch to Juve could earn his former club a fee of just under £4m, although it’s not clear at this stage how a player swap would impact the deal. The Daily Mail have, for instance, claimed Villa value Luiz at around £50m.

City also profited from a transfer involving Villa earlier this year when they pocketed an initial £2m from Morgan Rogers’ switch from Middlesbrough. It’s a similar policy City have applied to recent outgoing and they could earn around £3m from James Trafford’s move to Newcastle United, which is expected to be wrapped up soon.

City also secured a £20m fee for Taylor Harwood-Bellis, whose permanent transfer to Southampton was confirmed after the Saints gained promotion via the play-off final in May.

The increased finances will in turn help the Blues complete any incoming deals. Bruno Guimaraes is a player City admire, but the Premier League champions are reluctant to pay his £100m release fee, a figure which will expire at the end of the month.