Guardiola claims 'really good' Aston Villa star could play for Manchester City

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has told that Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz has the quality to play for the Premier League champions with a buy-back clause enabling them to re-sign the Brazilian youngster should they wish to do so. The Blues bought the Brazilian as one of their possible midfield options to succeed Fernandinho, loaning him out to Girona to get some experience in La Liga. After a second season at Girona, City thought it best to accept £15m when Aston Villa came calling in summer. "He would be here if a work permit were possible if the Premier League said it would be possible but now he is at Aston Villa," Guardiola said. "We have an option to get him back but sometimes life is like this. We wanted him because last season we had problems in that position because we didn’t buy a holding midfielder. "We wanted him before so we thought about it but the rules with the work permit meant it was not possible. I thought he would be here with the pre-season he played last year in the States, he was really good. I think he had the quality to play with us but he could not do it. "The talent is always there, we’ll see at the end of the season what his level is but the quality is always there."

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