Chelsea SNUBBED as €50m star ‘agrees to join Aston Villa’ after Unai Emery personally intervenes | OneFootball

Chelsea have failed in their pursuit of Douglas Luiz, with the Juventus-owned Nottingham Forest midfielder having decided on a move to Aston Villa and play under Unai Emery.

On January 22, 2026, TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, reported interest from Chelsea and Aston Villa in Douglas Luiz. Luiz has been struggling for playing time at Nottingham Forest in the 2025/26 campaign, following his season-long loan move from Juventus in the summer of 2025.

Forest have been willing to cut short Luiz’s loan deal, with Chelsea making enquiries for the midfielder and Villa also monitoring the situation.

There have been reports in the Brazilian and Italian media that Luiz was ready to join Chelsea, but it is Villa who have managed to get a loan deal done for the Brazil international midfielder.

Luiz, who left Villa for Juventus in a €50million (£43.4m, $59.6m) deal in the summer of 2024, will return to the Premier League club on a loan deal.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano wrote on X at 1:13pm on January 27, 2026:” Douglas Luiz to Aston Villa, here we go!

“The Brazilian midfielder is back at the club after talks revealed last week.

“Verbal agreement with Juventus over paid loan deal with buy option clause.

“Nottingham Forest send Luiz back to Juve and new loan to #AVFC.”

BBC Sport journalist Sami Mokbel also noted on X: “Douglas Luiz has agreed to join Aston Villa on loan.

“The midfielder has been on loan at Nottingham Forest from Juventus.”

Transfer reporter Ben Jacobs added: “Douglas Luiz has now agreed to join Aston Villa on loan. Deal now in process of being formalised.”

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Why Douglas Luiz has picked Aston Villa over Chelsea – sources

One of the reasons why Villa stepped up their pursuit of Luiz is the injury to Youri Tielemans.

Tielemans suffered an ankle injury against Newcastle United and is set for a spell on the sidelines.

With Villa in the race for the Champions League places and potentially the Premier League title, Emery has pressed ahead for a deal for Luiz.

Our transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, has also revealed how Villa managed to convince Luiz to move to Villa Park despite Chelsea’s interest.

Bailey told TEAMtalk: “Juventus have already given approval for Luiz to join another club this month, a stance made easier after Nottingham Forest confirmed they are willing to terminate his loan early.

“With Forest stepping aside, the path has opened for a permanent move, and Villa have wasted no time in pushing forward.

“Chelsea and Vasco da Gama both held talks with the player’s camp, but neither has been able to match the momentum Villa have built in recent days.

“The lure of returning to a club where he previously thrived has grown stronger, and Villa’s project under Unai Emery has become a decisive factor.

“We understand Emery has personally spoken with Luiz to outline his plans for the midfielder’s role in the squad.

“Those conversations have been described as hugely influential, with Luiz now favouring a return to the Second City as Villa close in on a deal that would mark one of the window’s most intriguing homecomings.”

A source with knowledge of the deal, told us: “Douglas is very excited about what is next, Chelsea is very interesting, but he loves Villa, he loves Unai and the chance to be part of that situation again is very tempting.”

Meanwhile, Aston Villa have taken a giant leap in signing a striker, as Emery plans to make sure that he has a top squad for the second half of the season.