Xavi has stoked the fires of the David Luiz deal, by publicly admiring the player…
Chelsea’s star Brazilian defender David Luiz is now being coveted by Barcelona players, according to the Daily Star.
Xavi, Spanish 33-year-old midfield legend, has announced how impressed he was with the 26-year-old stopper during this summer’s international tournament – where Spain lost convincingly to Brazil in the final.
“David Luiz seems to be a better player. In the Confederations Cup he was at a spectacular level. It’s impossible to overlook his name,” said Xavi.
Luiz was especially impressive in this tournament, and formed a fantastic partnership with Barcelona’s primary defensive target Thiago Silva, who has now signed a new contract with PSG.
Chelsea have indicated they are unwilling to sell Luiz, but Barcelona’s desperation to sign a new defender could see them lodge an astronomical bid.
The Catalan club have been targeting a new centre-back all summer, and to rub salt in their wounds after missing out on Silva, PSG also snapped up 19-year-old Marquinhos from Roma, who was said to be Barcelona’s backup plan if they failed to sign Brazil captain.
As a result, Barcelona are still very short in central defence. While Gerard Pique is expected to start in defence for years to come, his defensive partner Carlos Puyol is injury prone and ageing. Barcelona have regularly had to use midfielders like Javier Mascherano or Alex Song alongside Pique – and played the inexperienced Marc Bartra in their Champions League semi-final defeat to Bayern Munich.
(Check out five possible Barcelona centre-back alternatives here)
COMMENTS