Chelsea fail with £17m Luiz bid

According to Benfica, Chelsea have made a £17m bid for their Brazilian centre-half David Luiz.

With Alex still recovering from knee surgery, and John Terry's long-term fitness a doubt with his sciatic nerve complaint, the London side have made a big-money bid for Luiz, according to reports in the Guardian.
However, the Portuguese side have rejected the bid, insisting that he will not be sold for less than the £43m release clause in his contract. The club have instead offered Fabio Coentrao and Carlos Martins to potential buyers in an attempt to keep Luiz.

Manchester City are also reported to be interested in Luiz, though they have not made a bid for the player as yet.
If there is competition for the player, Roman Abramovich would be reluctant to spend more than what has been offered, and could very move on to other Premier League-based players instead.
Bolton Wanderers' Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka of Everton and Birmingham City's Roger Johnson are some of the names suggested that Carlo Ancelotti will turn his attention on to bolster his injury-riddled defence.