Chelsea: David Luiz closing in on £40m Paris St-Germain move

Chelsea are in advanced talks with French champions Paris St-Germain over the sale of defender David Luiz for about £40m.

The 27-year-old Brazil international joined the Blues from Benfica for £21.3m in January 2011.

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.

World's most expensive defenders
Player	From	To	Amount (£m)	Date
Thiago Silva	AC Milan	Paris St-Germain	36	2012
Rio Ferdinand	Leeds United	Manchester United	33.1	2002
Marquinhos	Roma	Paris St-Germain	27	2013
Fabio Coentrao	Benfica	Real Madrid	27	2011
Pepe	Porto	Real Madrid	25	2007

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.

The Blues also spent £12m on St Etienne centre-back Kurt Zouma in January. 

Luiz at Chelsea

• Cost a reported £21m from Benfica on 31 January 2011
• Has made 109 appearances in all competitions for the club and scored 12 goals
• Scored a penalty in the 2011-12 Champions League final shootout win over Bayern Munich
• Played in the 2-1 win over former club Benfica in the 2012/13 Europa League final