The Himmah Hub in Hyson Green, north Nottingham, is the sort of place that steps in to help when society looks the other way.
A joint Muslim/Jewish project, Himmah’s Salaam Shalom Kitchen provides free hot meals to those in need every Wednesday. Yet this occasion, eight days before Christmas, is a little different, not least because one of the volunteers is a Premier League footballer with 18 caps for Brazil.
Wearing his Nottingham Forest Christmas jumper and standing alongside team-mate Nicolas Dominguez, Douglas Luiz chats happily and serves meals to more than 150 people who have come to the Himmah this evening. It is part of Forest’s impressive ‘Home for Christmas’ campaign, comprising eight separate initiatives to support people in need across Nottinghamshire.
Luiz understands hardship. Growing up in a two-room house in Rio de Janeiro’s Nova Holanda favela, the 27-year-old saw ‘many bad things’. ‘My family always had food at home but that’s not the case for everyone,’ he explains after spending a thought-provoking hour at the Hub.
‘It’s a special day because sometimes you need to see real life, how some people find it difficult to eat and live. For players, everything is easier and you need to think of other people.
‘I love to do this. I’m not doing it because I’m a footballer or because I’m on TV. Some of the people in the Hub didn’t know who I was. I love to see people’s expressions change when you give them food or speak to them. Just small things.’
Douglas Luiz (centre) helps out at the Salaam Shalom Kitchen in Nottingham that provides free hot meals to those in need every Wednesday. ‘It’s a special day,’ he says, ‘because sometimes you need to see real life’
The midfielder has regained his fitness and is looking forward to a run of games in the side. ‘Now I have so much focus to be fit,’ he says
Some, of course, recognise the Forest players, who pose for pictures while they serve food. Before sitting down with Daily Mail Sport, Luiz is approached by an Aston Villa fan who is desperate for him to return.
Luiz will be back at Villa Park, where he spent five successful years, on January 3, but in the colours of Forest.
Since leaving Villa, Luiz has had quite the ride. He joined Juventus for £40million in summer 2024 but problems with form and fitness, as well as a mid-season coaching change, limited him to only six starts.
Now on a season-long loan at Forest, Luiz is already on to his third manager in Sean Dyche. Five coaches in 18 months is hardly the ideal environment, especially when Luiz had only three – Dean Smith, Steven Gerrard and Unai Emery – at Villa.
‘There have been many changes – and it’s hard mentally and also for my body,’ Luiz explains. ‘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.
Luiz has had a stop-start season so far, playing for just 194 minutes in the Premier League
Despite only joining on loan in the summer, he is already on to his third Forest manager in Sean Dyche and believes the churn of bosses hasn’t helped his fitness
‘When there is a change, the gameplan changes and so does the training style. Some coaches like to train in a lighter way, others go harder and that was difficult for my body at the start. Now I have so much focus to be fit. I have changed my way of thinking about how I can recover.’
This, in the end, will determine Luiz’s future in the medium term. He is a proven Premier League performer and, during his final season at Villa, his midfield partnership with Boubacar Kamara was arguably the best in the league.
Villa finished fourth that year, qualifying for the Champions League, and Luiz finished with 10 goals and 10 assists in all competitions. Just when he appeared ready to take the next step, however, things started to go awry.
Despite denials on both sides, it is thought relations with Emery started to cool in the second half of that season. Anyone who saw Emery’s furious on-pitch tirade at Luiz during the Conference League semi-final against Olympiacos will struggle to forget it.
With Villa needing to make a sale that summer to avoid a possible points deduction, Luiz was offloaded to Juventus. Then came the persistent thigh and hamstring problems that have stretched into this season. Since leaving Villa in June 2024, Luiz has started only 14 matches.
He must make 15 appearances of at least 45 minutes to deliver a permanent £25million transfer to Forest. And this is the crux.
Luiz joined Juventus for £40million in summer 2024 but problems with form and fitness, as well as a mid-season coaching change, limited him to only six starts
Luiz gets stuck in against Utrecht – he must make 15 appearances of at least 45 minutes to deliver a permanent £25m transfer to Forest
As long as he is healthy, Luiz is a proven Premier League performer. If he cannot become more durable, though, Forest will have to think long and hard before making such a heavy investment in transfer fee and wages. Luiz has played 45 minutes or more seven times so far and, with Ibrahim Sangare at the Africa Cup of Nations and Ryan Yates injured, will surely do so again over Christmas and New Year.
Luiz, at least, knows what he wants. ‘I had a difficult year at Juventus with many injuries and disappointments,’ he recalls. ‘Now I’m really happy. I’m at a good club, a big club, with a lot of friends and I’m delighted to be here. Both for the club’s sake and my own, I hope to find the way to be fit. That’s the most important thing. I hope everything will be OK and that I can stay and be happy.’
Luiz deserves a good reception at Villa Park. When he joined, the club had just been promoted from the Championship. When he left, they had qualified for the Champions League. There were bumps in the road, of course, but 22 goals and 24 assists in 204 games represent a job well done.
‘I say it every time – I love Villa,’ he adds. ‘I’ve spent more time there than at any other club and I was really happy. I love the people and the club but when we go there in January, we have to win.’
