Chelsea Looking to Send David Luiz on Loan This Month Following Conte Fallout

Premier League champions Chelsea are prepared to ship Brazil defender David Luiz out on loan this month.

That's according to the  Express, who claim that the deteriorated relationship between the centre-back and manager Antonio Conte has prompted the club to loan Luiz to another club for the rest of the season.

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Luiz has lost his place in the Blues' starting 11, with young Dane Andreas Christensen showing composure beyond his years in the centre of Conte's back three and looking irreplaceable. And the Londoners are now intent on letting the Brazilian play his football elsewhere for the time being.

The 30-year-old's last appearance for the Blues (before being named in the starting lineup for Chelsea's FA Cup tie against Norwich on Saturday) came in November, during a 4-0 Champions League win over Qarabag, and he has been nursing a knee injury since then. He only recently returned to training, but many sources claim that his absence is the result of a fallout with Conte.

The pair were said to have had a heated argument over the manager's tactics during a team meeting following a 3-0 loss to AS Roma. And the coach was also reported to have expressed anger at Luiz's reaction to getting substituted during the 3-3 draw against the Italian side.

The Blues, meanwhile, completed the signing of Ross Barkley from Everton on Friday and are expected to bring in more players before the close of the transfer window.

Sources claim that the Stamford Bridge side are still searching for another left-back to compete with Marcos Alonso, with Alex Telles thought to be the main target.

They are also said to be considering recruiting another striker and defender.