According to the Telegraph, Barcelona will prepare a bid of £25 million for Chelsea defender David Luiz, after news broke in Spain about Carles Puyol’s decision to leave the club in the summer after a lifelong association with the Catalans.

Puyol began his career with Barcelona in 1995 as a youth player, and played in the youth system for a year. At a young age, he was signed by Barcelona C, before being offered a spot in the Barcelona B squad, which he readily accepted after a season with the former. In 2000, the Barcelona officials saw fit to move him to the senior squad, and Puyol went on to play 392 league matches for the club, scoring 12 goals in the process. Javier Mascherano has been playing partner to Gerard Pique in central defence, while Puyol remains fit to play.

Luiz, at the age of 26, has reached the top form in his career, and has a minimum of five quality years left in his locker. The stature of Puyol will be difficult to replace, but Luiz’s aggressive style of play will be well suited as a natural replacement for the Spaniard.