Home   >   Transfer News   >   Chelsea reject £35m Barcelona offer for David Luiz

Chelsea reject £35m Barcelona offer for David Luiz

By on August 7, 2013

20130807-202055.jpgChelsea have instantly rejected a £35m offer from Barcelona for David Luiz only twenty-four hours after the Spanish champions lodged the fairly priced bid. The Blues new manager Jose Mourinho told Barca to stop wasting their time attempting to sign anybody from Stamford Bridge as his side prepare for the oncoming season and could not possibly find a replacement in time for the beginning of their Premier League campaign.

Luiz, who joined Chelsea in January 2011 for €25 million, cemented himself as a key part of the club’s center defense last season, enough for Mourinho to name him alongside Oscar, Eden Hazard and Juan Mata as untouchable. The Portuguese manager has refused to even enter talks with other clubs about possibly selling his top players so as to have a better chance to take the Premier League trophy away from Manchester next season.

Despite Chelsea having the available back-ups for Luiz he is still one of their most valued players, and will be a good fit for Mourinho’s counter-attacking style of play. The 26-year-old, who’s current contract runs until 2017, is one of the best center-backs in the world of football not near bulging with defense talent, while his free-kick taking abilities also put him up among the best. Although he looked shaky at the start of his Chelsea career his recent performances have carved him a starting spot in the Luiz Scolari’s Brazilian national side. He featured in all of Brazil’s 2013 Confederations Cup matches, while Mourinho commented on Luiz’s improvement over the last few seasons.

Speaking earlier this week Mourinho said: “David has come back with us fantastically and we have to use his quality. He has big self-confidence and self-esteem, especially when he comes up from the back with the ball. Can he improve defensively? Of course. But it is my job to try always to improve players.”

The former Brazilian Under-20 international’s hot from also attracted interest from Bayern Munich, but Chelsea have resisted the financial power and dominance of Germany and Spain.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.