Out-of-Favour Blues Defender David Luiz Set for January Exit With Juventus Leading the Race
According to The Daily Mirror, Chelsea defender David Luiz looks to be heading for the exit doors for the second time in four years at Stamford Bridge, with Serie A giants Juventus the favourites to land the Brazilian.
Luiz has been struggling for game time for the past couple of months following a fall out with Blues boss Antonio Conte and could find himself heading to Turin when the transfer window re-opens in January.
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Juve are at the front of the pack for Luiz’s signature, but Manchester United are also rumoured to be interested in the Brazil international, with Jose Mourinho keen to bolster his defensive options with first-choice centre-back Eric Bailly looking at an extended spell on the sidelines following ankle surgery.
Luiz - who is rated at £23m - was axed in the aftermath of Chelsea’s woeful 3-0 Champions League defeat to Roma back in October, where words were reportedly exchanged between the 30-year-old and Conte. This saw Luiz dropped for Chelsea’s following match against Manchester United, resulting in a 1-0 loss for the west Londoners.
The Brazilian has only managed one appearance since - Chelsea’s 4-0 victory over Qarabag - although the defender has been struggling with a knee injury.
Despite Luiz’s injury woes, however, it would seem that he may find regular first-team appearances few and far between even when fully fit, with Conte seeming to favour Chelsea’s Danish starlet Andreas Christensen as part of his back three.
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Reported by The Daily Mirror, Conte said: “He [Luiz] has to work really hard otherwise he is on the bench or in the stands. Andreas Christensen is the present and the future for Chelsea.”
Chelsea came out victorious on Saturday afternoon with a 1-0 victory over Southampton at Stamford Bridge, courtesy of a Marcos Alonso free-kick. The Blues will be in action on Wednesday night, where they will be entertaining Bournemouth in the quarter-final on the Carabao Cup.
