Chelsea chase shock Douglas Luiz deal – Ornstein

Chelsea‘s pursuit of a squad rotation option in the middle of midfield has led them to Douglas Luiz, reports transfer expert David Ornstein.

The Blues are light in that department despite another huge outlay on players in the summer, with Enzo Fernández and Moises Caicedo largely having to carry the load. Captain Reece James has performed well in midfield when called upon but that means taking him out of his preferred role at right-back, while Andrey Santos isn’t seen as a key starter as of yet.

Chelsea do have Roméo Lavia and Dario Essugo in their ranks but both have suffered from constant injury issues this season.

New manager Liam Rosenior is keen on January reinforcements and has targeted Luiz, who is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest from Juventus.

In the summer, the Brazilian went AWOL with the Italian giants in order to force through a return to the Premier League, having previously featured for Aston Villa.

The Villans needed to move Luiz on in order to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations and what came thereafter was a complicated deal that involved Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea going in the other direction.

The triple-move hasn’t worked out of any of the parties involved.

Luiz to Chelsea?

Forest secured Luiz on a loan until the end of the season but he has only featured in eight Premier League games.

The door is therefore open for the loan to be terminated and another loan put in place, this time to Stamford Bridge.

Ornstein reports:

“Chelsea considering move to sign Douglas Luiz on loan for remainder of season. 27yo midfielder currently with Nottingham Forest from Juventus but Chelsea see as system fit; Brazil int’l would add quality, experience, depth until summer.”

In addition to Luiz, Chelsea are also eager to finalise a deal for Stade Rennais centre-back Jeremy Jacquet before the winter transfer window closes on 2 February.

The France U21 international was heavily linked with both Arsenal and Liverpool last summer, but Chelsea have emerged as the frontrunners for his signature this month.

However, Rennes are currently demanding a club-record transfer fee of at least €65 million and Chelsea officials remain in advanced talks with their French counterparts in a bid to lower their possible outlay.

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