Blues make shock bid to bring back Luiz
CHELSEA are locked in talks with Paris St Germain over a sensational return for defender David Luiz.
PSG rejected a £32million offer last night from the Blues, who are desperately trying to buy a centrehalf before the window shuts.
The French champions need a lot of convincing to sell the Brazil international, even though he is no longer guaranteed to be first choice at the back.
Luiz is keen on a return to Stamford Bridge, where he played between 2011-14 before being sold to PSG for £50m.
The 29-year-old has the option of making a transfer request to force a switch back to London but is unlikely to do so due to the strength of his relationship with the club’s president Nasser al-Khelaifi.
Chelsea will have to increase their bid significantly to persuade PSG to change their minds, especially as they won’t have much time to find a replacement.
However, one option would be for PSG to sign Manchester City’s Eliaquim Mangala on loan as he is no longer wanted at the club.
New PSG coach Unai Emery favours a partnership of Luiz’s Brazil team-mates Marquinhos and Thiago Silva, who is just about to return from a hip injury, at the back this term.
That has given Chelsea hope that PSG can be persuaded to let Luiz go, even though Emery still wants him in the squad.
Luiz was a popular figure among Chelsea supporters during his time at Stamford Bridge, where he won
three trophies, including the Champions League.
Luiz was being earmarked by some members of the hierarchy as a potential captain once John Terry leaves but his career at the club stagnated following the appointment of Jose Mourinho as manager in 2013.
Chelsea have been trying to sign a centre-back all summer and have had bids for Kalidou Koulibaly, Leonardo Bonucci and Alessio Romagnoli fall through.
New coach Antonio Conte has added West Ham’s Angelo Ogbonna name to the wish-list.
Ogbonna played under the 46year-old at Juventus and earlier this month admitted how much he loved playing under him.
West Ham will also be reluctant to sell the 28-year-old, especially as they have already allowed James Tomkins to join Crystal Palace this summer.
Conte wants to increase his options at the back, especially as Terry, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic are all over 30, while Kurt Zouma has yet to return from a knee injury.
Other back-up targets have been considered including Lazio’s Stefan de Vrij, Victor Lindelof, of Benfica, and Zenit St Petersburg defender Ezequiel Garay.
Chelsea will complete the £23m acquisition of Fiorentina full-back Marcos Alonso today.
He was at the club’s training ground this morning to undergo a medical and has already agreed personal terms.
One player heading back out of Chelsea is Juan Cuadrado, who has been granted his wish to return to Juventus on loan.
Conte wanted the Colombia winger to be in his squad this term only for the 28-year-old to make it clear he wants to play in Italy.
Juventus have agreed to pay a loan fee worth £4.2m, as well as accede to Chelsea’s demand that they make the move permanent should he play a certain amount of games.