Aston Villa have signed Samuel Lling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea as their Brazilian midfielder, Douglas Luiz joins Juventus.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed that the deal that saw Samuel Lling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea join Aston Villa, while Douglas Luiz moved in the opposite direction are separate deals.
Luis, who has been a long-term target for the Old Ladies, will hope to settle for a new chapter with the club in Italy while Lling-Junior and Barrenechea prepare for a new exciting challenge in the English top flight
Samuel Lling Jr and Enzo Barrenechea
Samiel Lling Jr is a former Chelsea Football Academy star who played for Juventus in his professional career.
Known for his quick pace and good footballing skills, the English youngster started his career with Chelsea Academy in 2011. He played for nine years for Chelsea youth teams before joining Juventus Academy in 2020.
After a year with the Serie A giants, Samuel Lling-Junior signed his first professional contract with Juventus in 2021. He was first placed in Juventus Next Gen – the club’s feeder team – before he earned his first-team appearance in 2022.
Samuel Lling-Junior career and stats
Lling-Junior 9 Serie C appearances with Juventus Next Gen and 2 appearances for the club’s U-23s, scoring 3 goals. After his 2023 breakout year with the club’s senior team, he tallied 12 Serie A appearances and 6 in other competitions. In the 2023-24 season, he made 27 league appearances for the club. Overall, he had made 58 club appearances, scoring 7 goals.
Enzo Barrenechea is an Argentine professional footballer, who played as a midfielder for Juventus in Serie A but is now set for a new career chapter with Aston Villa. Barrenechea began his youth career with Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina before he moved to Sion, where he would begin a full-blown professional football career.
Enzo Barrenechea’s career stats
Barrenechea recorded his breakout year in professional football with Sion in 2019. He played for the team’s reserve team for a year, making 7 appearances, before joining Juventus Next Gen in 2020.
At Juventus Next Gen, the 23-year-old recorded 37 Serie C appearances, scoring 4 goals. He was promoted to Juventus’ first team in 2022 but struggled to nail down a regular spot in the team. Throughout his two-year spell with Juventus first-team, Barrenechea could only manage 3 Serie A appearances for the club. He was sent on loan in the 2023-24 season to Frosinone, where he breathed life back into his career, making 36 Serie A appearances.
In all competitions, Barrenechea registered 47 appearances for Juventus Next Gen, 5 for Juventus first team, and 17 for Frosinone. He has tallied a total of 69 club appearances, scoring 9 goals.
Samuel Lling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea contracts and salary
The two players are set for a new career chapter in the Premier League with Aston Villa. They both arrived on a swap deal. According to reports, they have both penned down a five-year contract with the club. Their salary offer is yet to be disclosed.
Douglas Luiz
Douglas Luiz, 26, is a Brazilian midfielder who has completed a transfer move to Juventus in Serie A. Luiz joined Aston Villa from Manchester City in 2019 and was an integral part of the Villains before the exit to Juventus. In his five-year spell with the club, he made 175 Premier League appearances, scoring 20 goals. Overall, he has tallied 290 club career appearances, scoring 27 goals.
