Aston Villa’s fortunes in the recruitment department have significantly improved since being promoted back to the Premier League in 2019.
The Villans were once struggling to get out of the Championship but since the arrival of NSWE in July 2018, the club have been on an upward trajectory, both on and off the field.
Of course, their progress towards the upper echelons of the Premier League has been fast-tracked by the brilliance of Unai Emery, but the foundations of that success were laid down by their exceptional recruitment.
Villa have slowly built a squad of superstars that supporters are proud of watching.
From the arrival of Pau Torres in the summer, who has seen his value double since making the switch to Villa Park, to the established Emiliano Martinez and Ollie Watkins, the core of Emery’s squad is laced with talent, spearheaded by midfield linchpin Douglas Luiz.
How much did Aston Villa sign Douglas Luiz for?
In the summer of 2019, Aston Villa captured Douglas Luiz from Manchester City for £15 million.
Under the tutelage of Dean Smith, Premier League football had just returned to B6 and Villa were intent on splashing the cash.
Although there were several disaster signings, such as the arrivals of Mahmoud Trezeguet and Ally Samatta, the likes of Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Luiz made it a successful summer of spending.
For his first few years at the club, Luiz was used as a midfield destroyer, who acted as the screen in front of the defence and was rarely given license to maraud forward.
Since Emery’s arrival, however, the Brazilian has been the backbone of Villa’s surge to prominence, becoming one of the Premier League’s most complete midfielders.
Luiz is now worth quadruple what Aston Villa paid for him
A dominant force behind their success, whose displays have drawn links to Arsenal and Liverpool, Luiz has seen his value surge.
Luiz has been used as an advanced playmaker who can push into the final third and force turnovers in dangerous positions.
Emery typically uses him on the left side of a 4-4-2, alongside Frenchman Boubacar Kamara, and the pair have formed an unbreakable partnership in the engine room.
Luiz has nine goal contributions so far in the Premier League this season – including six goals. This highlights that Emery has asked him to push up the pitch and work on contributing in the final third rather than relying on him to win possession back.
A complete midfielder, who can perform as no.6 or no.8, the 25-year-old so important to how Villa conduct attacks as most of them go through him.
Hailed as “unbelievable” by ex-Villa manager Dean Smith, there is no surprise that the club have slapped a triple figure sum onto his head with Luiz openly committing his future.
The former Manchester City man has also been recognised for his rise elsewhere with the CIES Football Observatory, as of (04/01/2024), valuing him at a whopping €73.8m (£62m).
This means his value has quadrupled since he arrived at the club for £15m with an incredible increase of 313%.
If he continues performing at such a level, there’s no doubt his price will sky rocket even further considering he’s only 25.