Pep Guardiola has suggested that he would have preferred Douglas Luiz to still be at Manchester City.
Having failed to make the grade at the Etihad Stadium, partly due to work permit issues, Luiz now finds himself at Aston Villa, where he has impressed since joining in the summer.
However, with City possessing an option to re-sign the Brazilian in the future, Guardiola has admitted that he is interested in a reunion with the 21-year-old.
The Spaniard is quoted by the Manchester Evening News as saying: "He would be here if a work permit were possible if the Premier League said it would be possible but now he is at Aston Villa. We have an option to get him back but sometimes life is like this. We wanted him because last season we had problems in that position because we didn't buy a holding midfielder.
"We wanted him before so we thought about it but the rules with the work permit meant it was not possible. I thought he would be here with the pre-season he played last year in the States, he was really good. I think he had the quality to play with us but he could not do it.
"The talent is always there, we'll see at the end of the season what his level is but the quality is always there."
Luiz could feature when Villa take on Man City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
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