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By SIMON JONES and TOM COLLOMOSSE, FOOTBALL REPORTER Published: 20: 26 AEDT, 21 January 2026 | Updated: 21: 51 AEDT, 21 January 2026 6 View comments Douglas Luiz and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are among the midfielders who could be available to Aston Villa as they try to replace Boubacar Kamara. Villa’s most important player, Kamara is set to miss a significant part of the season with the knee injury sustained at Tottenham earlier this month. Unai Emery’s moves to find cover for Kamara are being hindered by the Premier League and UEFA financial rules, which limit how much they can spend in this window. While Loftus-Cheek has been proposed to Villa, as reported by Daily Mail Sport on Tuesday, AC Milan are reluctant to let the former Chelsea midfielder leave on loan. Luiz, meanwhile, was at Villa from 2019-2024, leaving for Juventus after helping Emery’s men qualify for the Champions League. He received a warm reception at Villa Park earlier this month when he returned with Nottingham Forest, where he is on a season-long loan. Yet Forest are reluctant to buy Luiz permanently for about £23m, which they must do if he makes 15 appearances of at least 45 minutes each. AC Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is among the candidates Aston Villa are mulling as they look to replace Boubacar Kamara Douglas Luiz is also under consideration for a return to Villa Park but relations between himself and Unai Emery are thought to be strained Your browser does not support iframes. Relations between Luiz and Emery grew strained towards the end, and he has struggled for fitness since leaving Villa. But the Brazilian played the best football of his career under Emery and would need no period of adaptation if he returned. In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Sport last month, Luiz said: ‘I was at Villa for five years, and there were changes of manager but the overall idea of the club was the same, so many things stayed more or less the same. 'Since I’ve arrived at Forest, there have been three different coaches and it’s difficult to find the way to be fit because they have different mindsets. ‘I say it every time - I love Villa. I’ve spent more time there than at any other club and I was really happy. I love the people and the club. ’
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