Chelsea Need Luiz Presence?

Chelsea Need Luiz Presence?

Chelsea are on the receiving end of a massive bid from Barcelona for their star defender David Luiz, who proved last season why the club paid a hefty transfer fee to bring the Brazilian from Benfica in the winter window of 2011.

The Blues have been on a terrific run in their pre-season campaign, which saw them on a perfect winning record until this Thursday. Jose Mourinho’s men participated in the Guiness International Champions Cup which saw participants in the form of elite European clubs to fight it out for the trophy. Chelsea made their way through to the final after defeating clubs like AC Milan and Inter Milan, both with comfortable 2-0 score-lines. They were joined in the final by Mourinho’s former club Real Madrid, who themselves overcame Los Angeles Galaxy and Everton to go through. The final was played at the Sun Life Stadium at Miami, and did not go as planned for the Blues. Mourinho’s men were defeated 3-1 with the help of an impressive brace from Cristiano Ronaldo, who won his personal battle with the Portuguese boss, after Mourinho talked about the real Ronaldo being different than his compatriot.

Rumors had emerged in London about a possible bid coming in from Barcelona, but since nothing official had been heard, the Brazilian defender was part of the 2-0 drubbing of Inter in the opening game of the competition. However was it just coincidence that as Barcelona’s bid became official, the defender took no further part in the competition, adding further fuel to speculation of a potential move. Barcelona have always been fans of aggressive and strong defenders, and Carlos Puyol is the perfect example of the same. The 1st official bid is thought to be in the region of £30 million.

Chelsea are themselves looking at a potential permanent partnership between Gary Cahill and John Terry in the center of defense, with Mourinho admitting earlier this week that Luiz needed to work on his defensive game, the former Benfica player may decide to leave if Chelsea allow him to do so.