Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz says he is flattered by stories linking him with the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal.

However, the Brazilian international has emphasised that his head has not been turned by the reports and he is completely focused on performing well for his current team:

“I am very happy to hear the stories but I am here at Aston Villa. My focus is totally here. I don’t spend a lot of time looking at the stories. I see them, but I don’t focus on that and I’m not looking at it every day. My head is here at Aston Villa.”

It was reported last week that Liverpool and Manchester City had registered an interest in signing Luiz, in addition to Arsenal, who had been pursuing the player’s signature for more than a year.

Luiz’s asking price will make a transfer in January very difficult

The 25-year-old is a key player for Villa, and the Midlands club are not expected to let him go without a fight. It is believed that they could demand at least £60m.

As we saw in the summer with their £110m bid for Moises Caicedo, Liverpool do possess the funds to go after Luiz if required, but it remains to be seen whether they will make a concerted effort to buy a midfielder.

Liverpool are likelier to sign a defender

Following the news that Joel Matip is expected to miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury, there is a good case for saying that the Reds’ main priority in the transfer market next month will be a centre-back.

There were reports from reliable sources in the summer that a defender could be brought in but manager Jurgen Klopp kept faith with the players he had. That may change now Matip is sidelined. Any attempt to sign Luiz may, therefore, be put on the back burner.

Does Klopp know his best Liverpool XI? Watch our pundits discuss the issue on Shots!TV here