Aston Villa have re-signed midfielder Douglas Luiz on loan from Juventus.
The 27-year-old returns to Villa Park on a temporary deal with an option to buy in the summer, just 18 months after he left to join the Serie A club.
Any permanent aspect of a deal would only cost Villa a fraction of the £43m (€50m) they sold him to Juventus for in June 2024.
Luiz had his heart set on returning to Villa, where he feels he had the happiest time of his career, despite interest from Chelsea.
Villa want midfield reinforcements in part because of recent injuries to Boubacar Kamara, who is ruled out for the season, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans, who sustained an ankle injury in their victory at Newcastle last weekend.
Villa targeted a new midfielder on loan after completing the £18.2m signing of Tammy Abraham from Besiktas.
Luiz has spent this season on loan at Nottingham Forest but has only started five Premier League matches, amounting to just 318 minutes in total.
Luiz, who made over 200 appearances for Villa between 2019 and 2024, is still contracted to Juventus until 2029.
His loan at Forest included an obligation to buy that was conditional on the number of appearances he made.
Villa are currently third in the Premier League, level on 46 points with Manchester City, and are well placed to progress in the Europa League, as well as being in the FA Cup.
Fan-favourite Luiz returns at perfect time for Villa
Sky Sports’ Patrick Rowe
The return of fan favourite Douglas Luiz arrives at the perfect time for Aston Villa.
With Tielemans, Kamara and McGinn all facing extended periods out on the sidelines, midfield reinforcements were needed.
Luiz will likely be tasked with filling the void left by Tielemans’ absence in the side.
A metronomic-like midfielder who keeps Unai Emery’s team ticking from the engine room, with the likes of Amadou Onana or Lamare Bogarde paired with him to add defensive reinforcements.
A statistical comparison of Douglas Luiz and Youri Tielemans