Former Sao Paulo assistant boss Michael Beale has backed Aston Villa in their move for Brazil Under-23 captain Douglas Luiz from Manchester City.
Beale, who is currently a member of Steven Gerrard’s backroom staff at Scottish giants Rangers, spent six months at Sao Paulo, while serving as deputy to Rogerio Ceni during the 2016/17 season.
During his time in Brazil, the Englishman was able to watch some of the finest local talents at close quarters, including Luiz at Vasco da Gama.
The Brazil Under-23 skipper was a star performer for the club and eventually secured his big move to Manchester City in the summer of 2017.
Although Luiz has yet to make a senior appearance for the Premier League champions, Aston Villa are now poised to snap him up on a £15m deal.
And ahead of his imminent permanent switch to Villa Park, Beale has backed the newly-promoted side and Dean Smith for pursuing a deal for the midfielder.
The Gers coach hailed the signing as fantastic business by Aston Villa and tipped his hat towards Smith for identifying and swooping in for Luiz.
“A fantastic signing for Dean Smith and Aston Villa”, Beale wrote on Twitter.
Manchester City have inserted a buy-back clause into Luiz’s contract with Aston Villa, in a further sign of how highly they rate him.
