"For Douglas [Luiz] and me to be together in the same club is a dream," Alisha Lehmann said upon her arrival at Juventus, which was confirmed just seven days after her partner's £42 million ($55m) move to the Serie A giants.
That "dream" initially began after Lehmann joined Aston Villa in 2021, when Luiz had already been on the books of the West Midlands club for two years. A romance quickly blossomed, and though Lehmann and Luiz split in November 2022, they reconciled a year later and have been inseparable ever since. The reunion seemed to give Luiz an extra spring in his step on the pitch, too, as the Brazilian played a vital role in the Aston Villa men's team's run to a fourth-placed Premier League finish, sealing Champions League qualification for the club for the first time in 41 years.
But when Juventus came calling in the summer, Villa had no choice but to let one of their most prized assets go. And despite still being under contract with the Villa women's team for two more years, Lehmann jumped at the chance to follow her boyfriend to Turin, thereby completing a rare 'couples transfer'.
Lehmann's idyllic vision of her and Luiz balancing their work and love life at the same club has not yet come to pass in Italy, though. Both players have struggled to make an impact for Juve, and unless something changes quickly, they may be forced to consider a long-distance relationship when the January transfer window opens...