Chelsea slap £30m price tag on David Luiz as Barcelona target Brazilian to replace Puyol

 
Simon Johnson5 March 2014

Barcelona will make another move for David Luiz this summer but will have to bid in excess of £30million to tempt Chelsea to sell.

The La Liga side have admired the Brazil international for years but are even more determined to sign him after Carles Puyol announced yesterday he will leave the Nou Camp at the end of the season.

Luiz has more than three years left on his contract and Chelsea are under no pressure to cash in on one of their prize assets.

Jose Mourinho has consistently stated the 26-year-old is not for sale but it is believed Chelsea may consider an offer if it is high enough.

Luiz is no longer a first choice in the team and has started only 13 of his side’s 28 League games this season.

Mourinho prefers Gary Cahill to partner captain John Terry, who is expected to be given a new one-year contract, in central defence.

Chelsea have also signed Saint Etienne defender Kurt Zouma for £12.5m with next season in mind, while opportunities to play in defensive midfield have diminished following the arrival of Nemanja Matic for £21m last month.

Mourinho wants to strengthen his team at the end of the season, most noticeably up front where his targets include Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa, who has a £32m buy-out clause.

Significantly, the club have already changed their transfer policy to adapt to Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules. In January, the club sold Juan Mata and Kevin de Bruyne for a total of £55m, which allowed them to buy Matic, Zouma and Mohamed Salah and still make a profit.

Chelsea's summer transfer targets

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With Mourinho wanting to get most of his transfer business done before this summer’s World Cup, Barcelona plan to capitalise on the situation and make their move for the defender early too.

They are prepared to spend around £25m but Chelsea signed Luiz from Benfica in a deal worth that figure in 2011 when they paid £20.75m and sent Matic the other way.

He is valued by Chelsea at a minimum of £35m and that figure will rise if he has an impressive World Cup for hosts Brazil this summer.

Whatever happens regarding Luiz, Chelsea look increasingly unlikely to sign Edinson Cavani from Paris Saint‑Germain. Mourinho is a huge admirer of the Uruguay striker, who joined the French club from Napoli for £55m last year, and said he felt “it was not impossible” to buy him.

But his agent Claudio Anelucci said: “These are fantasies. Edinson stays in Paris. The club have world-class players in all positions and the president wants to improve the squad further.”

There has been speculation Cavani is unsettled at PSG due to playing out of position because Zlatan Ibrahimovic is up front but he has still scored 14 goals in 22 League games this term.

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