Manchester City are not planning to trigger a buy-back clause to re-sign Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa, according to reports.The midfielder has emerged as a key player for Dean Smith’s side after moving to Villa from City in 2019.
Pep Guardiola’s side agreed to sell Luiz for £15m due to concerns over getting him a work permit.
City could not offer the Brazilian enough game time to warrant a work permit, and therefore agreed to let him go.
However, the club inserted a buy-back clause in the deal that took Luiz from the Etihad Stadium to Villa Park.
That means City will be able to bring Luiz back to the club for a pre-agreed fee of £27.5m, according to The Athletic.
The clause expires on June 5 and has left key figures at Villa concerned in recent weeks.
Long-serving midfielder Fernandinho is out of contract this summer and Luiz has been earmarked as a potential replacement.
However, the Birmingham Mail and the Manchester Evening News report that City are not currently pursuing a move for their former player.
Luiz himself refused to address speculation about his future in an interview with Globo Esporte in October.
“About Man City, I’ve been doing my job at Villa, I don’t really have conversations with City or Guardiola.
“But it’s a job that went together, I had help from City with Villa to be able to play in the Premier League. It’s a very good thing to be able to play there without any difficulty.”
City host Villa in the Premier League on Wednesday night, with Guardiola’s side eyeing top spot.
City will climb to the summit of the standings if they beat Villa and Manchester United fail to defeat Fulham.
City are the Premier League’s form team at present, having won each of their last five games in the top flight.