Edu working on transfer for Arsenal target he repeatedly failed to sign for Mikel Arteta

Nottingham Forest are leading the race to sign Douglas Luiz from Juventus after he rejected moves to other Premier League sides. Juventus only signed Luiz from Aston Villa last summer but they are now desperate to offload the Brazilian midfielder.

The Italian giants coughed up £42.35million to sign Luiz from Villa before handing him a five-year contract. Villa only parted company with the 27-year-old to comply with profit and sustainability rules after he enjoyed an outstanding 2023/24 season.

Luiz is now trying to secure a move back to the Premier League after a miserable and injury-hit first campaign in Turin. He started just three Serie A matches for Juve last season, with 16 substitute appearances only getting him up to 518 minutes in the league.

Juve are now trying to get rid of him and striker Dusan Vlahovic in order to make room for new arrivals, including Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho. And it seems that Forest global head of football Edu could hold the key to the potential deal.

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Edu surprisingly announced his decision to move on from Arsenal in November, having spent five years working at the Gunners alongside Mikel Arteta. He was responsible for the signings of players like Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice – but one player he didn’t manage to land was Luiz.

However, Gazzetta dello Sport now says that Edu is once again leading the push to sign Luiz, this time for Forest. Luiz has turned down Fulham and Leeds and now his agent, Kia Joorabchian, is flying to London to speak with interested parties.

Tuttosport now reports that Everton are in the mix with Forest, while West Ham and Manchester United have previously explored a deal for him. With Luiz still having four years left on his deal with Juventus, a straight transfer appears unlikely.

But the Old Lady are reportedly happy to accept an initial loan with the obligation to buy. Last week, West Ham were reported to have offered a €10m (£8.67m) loan deal with an option to buy for around €30m (£26m). That was turned down because Juve want an obligation to buy, rather than an option.

Luiz is not in Igor Tudor’s plans for the 2025/26 season after missing 20 matches last season through injury while underwhelming when he did play. Edu doesn’t seem concerned as he continues chasing the midfielder.

Edu and Arteta were convinced that Luiz could become a key player in north London if they could poach him from Villa. They tried on more than one occasion to prise him away from Unai Emery, but were unsuccessful as he spent five seasons with the Birmingham club.

It seems he has a better chance this time around, with Forest – unlike Everton or United – able to offer him European football next season.