Nottingham Forest are weighing up a move for Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz, in what would be a potential club-record transfer, but no bid has yet been made.
The club are holding internal talks on whether to move for the Brazil international, with Forest’s new head of football Edu keen on evaluating a deal.
Edu has a strong relationship with Kia Joorabchian — who also represents Luiz — which may work in Forest’s favour if they do seek to progress a move.
But the club also have alternative targets and further discussions will be held, before any move advances. Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo wants to see the club add another midfielder to his ranks, as well as a full-back, another winger and a forward.
The Forest head coach hopes to be reunited with Adama Traore, the Fulham winger — whom he coached at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Forest had considered a move for Luiz last summer but opted instead to sign Elliot Anderson from Newcastle United, with the Brazilian instead joining Juventus from Villa.
However, Luiz made just three league starts in his debut campaign in Italy. He made one substitute appearance across Juve’s four matches at the Club World Cup this summer.
The Athletic reported on July 24 that Luiz would face disciplinary action from Juventus after not reporting for the club’s first day of pre-season training.
Luiz’s sale last summer came as Villa needed to sell a first-team player for substantial profit to help fund further spending and avoid breaching Premier League profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).
The Athletic reported in January that Manchester City were interested in a loan deal for Luiz until the end of 2024-25 as they sought to combat the absence of Rodri, who was out for much of the campaign after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Juventus’ preference was either to sell Luiz or offload him on loan with an option to buy, and the move never materialised.
Luiz came through the youth ranks of Brazilian club Vasco da Gama before joining City in 2017. He was subsequently sent on loan to Girona, who are part of City Football Group’s (CFG) multi-club ownership, where he made 46 appearances.
Aston Villa signed Luiz upon their return to the Premier League in 2019, and he went on to make 204 appearances for the club. He played a leading role in helping Villa secure a fourth-place Premier League finish in 2023-24, playing in all but three of their league games that season.
The first of the midfielder’s 18 appearances for Brazil came in November 2019, and most recently played for his nation at last year’s Copa America.
Forest have signed three players so far in this summer window, with Bologna’s Dan Ndoye joining following the arrivals of Igor Jesus and Jair Cunha from Botafogo.
Forest, meanwhile, are close to completing the signing of former Norwich City goalkeeper Angus Gunn.
Nuno’s side are yet to sign a central midfielder this summer, following the sales of Danilo and Lewis O’Brien to Botafogo and Wrexham respectively.
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