Chelsea Transfer News: €17.5m Defender Raid Reported

Italian giants Juventus are set to launch a €17.5m (£15m) January raid for Chelsea defender David Luiz, according to reports today.

Luiz moved to the Blues from Benfica last January for £24m and immediately became somewhat of a cult hero on the terraces at Stamford Bridge. But the 24-year-old has endured a difficult start to the season with many pundits questioning his defensive abilities and he’s already racked up 7 yellow cards in 14 games this season.

Reports are suggesting Juventus are ready to offer Luiz an escape route from England and are willing to offer €17.5m (£15m) for the Brazilian’s services. The club from Turin are also keen on fellow countryman Alex, who had a transfer request accepted last week.

However, its believed Andre Villas-Boas has no intention of selling Luiz and would rather work with the talented stopper on the training pitch to develop his game and iron out any weaknesses in his defensive armour, so a deal looks highly unlikely to happen.