Douglas Luiz is set to join Juventus in huge swap-plus-cash transfer

Douglas Luiz is closing in on a move to Juventus with Aston Villa ready to sell the Brazilian midfielder to ensure they stay in line with spending rules.

Luiz is currently with Brazil at the Copa America but is ready to move to Serie A in a deal that would see Juventus fringe players Samuel Iling junior and Enzo Barrenechea move to Villa, who would also collect about £25million.

The deal would go some way to easing Villa’s financial headache. The club need to make money this month to be certain they will not break the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability regulations (PSR).

The current accounting period ends on June 30 and any club who exceed the permitted losses - £105m over the previous three years – risk a points deduction, as happened to Everton and Nottingham Forest last season.

Sources in Italy also claim Juventus have secured a percentage of any future transfer fee Villa might receive for Iling or Barrenechea, should this deal go through.

Luiz may not be the only high-profile departure from Villa this month, even though homegrown midfielder Tim Iroegbunam was finalising a move to Everton.

Full-back Matty Cash would deliver a significant profit for PSR purposes and has been offered to both AC Milan and Inter Milan, with Villa transfer chief Monchi using his contacts across the European game to try to square the circle.

Forward Jhon Duran is also available for transfer with boss Unai Emery keen to add further back-up to Ollie Watkins, as well as improving his options at full-back and in midfield.