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Douglas Luiz, one of Juventus\u2019 big signings during their massive squad overhaul last summer, is getting oh-so-close to his desired move back to the Premier League after a little more than year in Turin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It\u2019s not a surprise. It\u2019s been assumed by many for months now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
But we are as close to seeing the latest Brazilian midfielder to flop at Juventus heading out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
According to reports from Fabrizio Romano<\/a> and Nico Schira<\/a> on Tuesday, Juventus and Nottingham Forest are closing in on their deal for the 27-year-old Luiz, who will head back to the Premier League on either an outright sale or on loan with an obligation to buy. Romano says the deal is \u201calmost done,\u201d with \u201cthe two clubs are finalising small details ahead of green light to travel for medical\u201d that could happen as soon as later this week. Juventus have been reportedly demanding at least \u20ac30 million total for Luiz, who arrived last summer for \u20ac50 million last summer from Aston Villa as part of a money-plus-cash deal that saw Samuel Illing-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea. (For what it\u2019s worth, Barrenechea is now on loan at Benfica and Illing-Junior could spend a second consecutive season on loan in the English Championship, so that\u2019s how well this deal has gone for all those involved.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The negotiations have also reportedly had Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis \u2014 that\u2019s Mr. Marinakis to you and yours, folks \u2014 and Juve general manager Damien Comolli having direct contacts to close the deal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n So there you go, folks. We\u2019re at the point of this deal almost being closed that we\u2019re getting the photostops of Luiz in a Nottingham Forest jersey. That\u2019s how advanced things are. (Not a bad kit, either, I\u2019d say. Good work, Forest.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For a good portion of the summer we heard that Luiz was holding out hope that he would not only return to the Premier League, but also do it at one of the big six clubs that will give him the chance to potentially compete in the Champions League. However, that never truly materialized \u2014 at least behind the scenes \u2014 and more of mid-table options as well as Forest became the most likely outcome. Now with the Premier League season officially underway, Forest simply emerged as the top potentially landing spot, with a spot in the Europa League settled following all sorts of off-field drama that also included Crystal Palace and CAS.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But here\u2019s a sign that Luiz was more than OK with heading to Forest: He agreed to personal terms last week, which was as clear of sign that he is totally fine with moving to the City Ground.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Where Juventus go from here when it comes to a potential replacement in the midfield still remains to be seen. We\u2019ve heard that Brighton\u2019s Matt O\u2019Riley is the top choice to replace Douglas Luiz, but he will neither be cheap nor an easy kind of negotiation considering he was in the starting lineup in his club\u2019s season opener this past weekend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n