Chelsea Boss Sets To Let Luiz Go For £35m

Jose Mourinho will sacrifice David Luiz to find the funds for a Chelsea summer overhaul.

Luiz’s boring display at Sellhurst Park on Saturday, when he was hooked at half-time, was the final straw for Mourinho, who will now hope to set up an auction for the Brazilian after the World Cup.

Mourinho accepts he has to work within the provisions of Financial Fair Play, meaning a need to raise funds to pay for what he has described as required “surgical movements in the transfer window”.

While Chelsea are confident of landing Atletico Madrid’s £45million Spain striker Diego Costa, more cash will be needed to help pay for a planned revamp, with Luiz – along with mis-firing Fernando Torres – the two most valuable commodities Mourinho is happy to offload.

But despite Luiz’s lack of Stamford Bridge future, and awareness of Mourinho’s limited faith, the Brazilian will still be entrusted to start against potential next employers Paris St Germain tomorrow.

Mourinho’s patience with Luiz finally snapped at Selhurst Park, with the Blues boss insisting he hauled the Brazilian off for “tactical” reasons which were nothing to do with his early shin knock.

Luiz, a favourite of Roman Abramovich and the Blues hierarchy since his £21m arrival from Benfica in 2011, has been shunted into the midfield role Mourinho had said he would never been deployed in due to the exceptional form of John Terry and Gary Cahill.

The Champions League ineligibility of the cup-tied Nemanja Matic, coupled with doubts over Frank Lampard’s ability to counter the pace of PSG’s midfielders Javier Pastore, Thiago Motta, and Blaise Matuidi, means Luiz is set to play alongside Ramires in the Parc des Princes.

But Mourinho will point to his correct call on another board favourite, Juan Mata, to back his judgement on Luiz, on whom he will place an initial £35m reserve price.

The Qatari-owned French champions are ready to go toe to toe with Barcelona for Luiz, whom they want to pair with his international partner Thiago Silva in a bid to win the Champions League for the first time.

As with Luiz, Mourinho has little option but to go trust another unwanted man tomorrow, Samuel Eto’o hamstring problem meaning the Cameroonian is not expected to make the trip to Paris.

That means another start for Torres, who has scored just three goals in 13 appearances since the turn of the year and whose £170,000 per week wages are the biggest impediment to the swift summer sale Mourinho would prefer.