Chelsea in PSG talks over Luiz sale

The 27-year-old Brazil international joined the Blues from Benfica for £21.3m in January 2011, BBC News reports. He has made 143 appearances, featuring predominantly at centre-back but also as a defensive midfielder. Luiz has three years left on a five-year contract he signed in September 2012. The Brazilian has been the subject of interest from Barcelona in the last two summers, but French champions PSG - despite recently failing Uefa's financial fair play (FFP) rules - are set to break the transfer record for a defender to secure his services. Chelsea only narrowly complied with FFP and see this as a sensible piece of business, given the profit it would generate. Luiz is not part of manager Jose Mourinho's first-choice central defensive pairing and his exit would provide funds to strengthen in other areas. Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa is among those linked with a move to Stamford Bridge. Because of FFP, Chelsea cannot afford to spend heavily on incoming players unless they recoup similar amounts from outgoings - which they could, and did, in the earlier years of owner Roman Abramovich's reign. The new financial restrictions, coupled with Mourinho's plans from a footballing perspective, are now at the forefront of the club's thinking and also explain the £37.1m sale of midfielder Juan Mata to Manchester United in January. All 12 of Luiz's goals for the Blues came in his first two-and-a-half seasons and although he played 34 games during the 2013-14 campaign, Mourinho prefers John Terry and Gary Cahill at centre-half and Luiz is not seen as a long-term option in midfield. Chelsea also have high hopes for 21-year-old Czech Tomas Kalas and 19-year-old Englishman Nathaniel Chalobah as defensive options.