GUNS GO FOR LUIZ
Wenger’s lining up £30m Chelsea outcast
ARSENE WENGER is set to launch a shock swoop for Chelsea’s David Luiz.
The Arsenal boss wants to bolster his defence and is considering a £30m bid for the out-of-favour centre-back in next month’s transfer window.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte had a bustup with the Brazilian last month and left him out of his squad for the visit of Manchester United on November 5.
Since then Luiz has made just one appearance, in a Champions League victory against Qarabag.
Conte insists his absence is due to a knee injury.
But the Italian has already shown with his axing of striker Diego Costa – who was sold to Atletico Madrid after being dumped by text by his boss – that he has no time for rebels.
It is understood Chelsea will listen to offers that
come close to matching the £30m they paid Paris St-Germain for Luiz, 30, when they resigned him in August 2016.
Wages could be an issue for Wenger though, with Luiz on around £6m a year.
But Wenger is keen to boost Arsenal’s back line as he bids to lift his fifth-placed side further up the table.
Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Juventus are also monitoring Luiz’s position, with his Chelsea future looking in further doubt due to the emergence of Danish centre-back Andreas Christensen. Frenchman Wenger is also considering bidding for 31-year-old Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany, if the league leaders come back in for Arsenal’s star striker Alexis Sanchez next month.
City offered £60m for Sanchez in the summer and are poised to revive their interest, with the hitman out of contract at the end of the season.
Arsenal host West Ham tonight in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with David Ospina, Mathieu Debuchy, Mohamed Elneny and Danny Welbeck set to start for the Gunners.