Chelsea Transfer News: Latest Blues Rumours, Linked Players Ahead of Winter
Tom Sunderland@@TomSunderland_
Featured ColumnistSeptember 4, 2016
The summer transfer window may be over, but Chelsea could still complete more business after free agent Martin Caceres was linked with a move to Stamford Bridge. Elsewhere, a prominent French journalist has insisted David Luiz has returned to the Blues "a worse player."
Italian outlet Calcio Mercato Web reported Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has asked for "special information" on Caceres before he decides to offer the Uruguay international a contract (h/t Sport Witness).
It's hardly surprising the west Londoners are hesitant about a deal, considering Caceres missed 24 games through injury last season and 36 matches the term before that, per Transfermarkt.
The 29-year-old has also drawn criticism off the field, and it was almost a year ago he was suspended by his last club, Juventus, for crashing his Ferrari while drink-driving, per BBC Sport.
FourFourTwo's Andrew Gibney recently gave his assessment of the player and didn't appear to feel he'd be worthy of Chelsea's investment:
The west Londoners improved their defensive options on transfer deadline day after landing left-back Marcos Alonso from Fiorentina and re-signing Luiz from Paris Saint-Germain for a reported £30 million.
Chelsea could have competition in the race for Caceres after SportItalia (h/t Football Italia) reported Napoli are interested, although Inter Milan won't be competing for his signature, according to Calcio Mercato:
Meanwhile, French journalist Julien Laurens has cast doubt over Chelsea's decision to bring Luiz back to west London from Paris, insisting the Brazilian is no longer the player he was at the time of his departure in June 2014.
Laurens even went so far as to call Luiz a "liability" when speaking on BBC Radio 5 live (h/t Express):
He’s been a liability for PSG more than anything else.
Everybody remembers the game he had against Barcelona and Luis Suarez, who nutmegged him twice, in the Champions League quarter-final and humiliated him at the Parc des Princes.
He hasn’t improved at all since leaving Chelsea. He’s probably coming back a worse player than when he left.
They (PSG) almost got their money back, two years after he left, for a player who’s two years older.
Laurens, who writes for Le Parisien, went on to say Luis has "had some shockers" during his two-year stay at Parc des Princes and that "PSG couldn’t believe their luck" when the Blues came calling.
Chelsea were linked with a raft of central defenders over the summer and only got their hands on Luiz at the final opportunity, and Ben McAleer of WhoScored.com compared him to the club's current crop:
The 29-year-old scored 12 goals in 143 appearances for Chelsea between 2011 and 2014, and he'll now hope to beat John Terry or Gary Cahill into Conte's new-look XI for the 2016-17 campaign.
Laurens didn't appear to believe the deal held good value for money by any understanding, but in a familiar setting, Luiz will have a chance to prove those views wrong upon completing his comeback.