Why Celtic will regret missing out on signing Manchester City starlet Douglas Luiz
According to Brazilian outlet Globo Extra, Manchester City youngster Douglas Luiz could be headed back to Girona for a second loan spell. Interestingly, reports from Turkey have also suggested that he could be headed to Fenerbahce.
Despite enjoying a fine pre-season, Luiz seems to be on the verge of moving out temporarily yet again. The 20-year-old has attracted interest from Celtic this summer, as per the Scottish Sun, but it doesn’t look that move will go through anytime soon.
Celtic are in dire need of a new midfielder after Stuart Armstrong’s departure to Southampton. However, his potential move to Girona will certainly spell trouble for the Hoops, who haven’t gotten their new campaign off to a promising start so far.
In fact, his failure to sign Luiz should leave boss Brendan Rodgers frustrated. On one hand, Steven Gerrard’s Rangers completed a plethora of new signings and have done well in the ongoing term as well. And on the other, Celtic must work hard towards defending their treble from the previous season.
And to that end, signing Luiz would have definitely yielded positive results. The central midfielder came through the ranks at Vasco da Gama in Brazil. He scored five goals in 39 appearances across two seasons before Manchester City swooped to sign him last summer.
The 20-year-old made 15 appearances on loan with Girona in Spain’s top-flight last season. However, most of them were brief substitute appearances. He played for a total of 295 minutes in the La Liga and a further 195 minutes in the Copa del Rey.
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Just like Girona, Celtic could have offered the highly-rated midfielder regular action which would have increased his chances of receiving a Brazil call-up. A call-up for international duty would make it easier for him to possibly break into City’s first-team as well. Rodgers has already dealt with a lack of transfer activity this summer, but in Douglas Luiz, the Bhoys have lost out on a good player.
