Chelsea Transfer News: Barcelona's £35m David Luiz Offer Rejected

by Luke Karlik

Chelsea have rebuffed a £35 million bid from Barcelona for David Luiz, according to The Guardian. José Mourinho has told the Catalan giants to abandon their pursuit of the Brazilian or any other of his key players.

Mourinho believes the 26-year-old will be essential to snatching the Premier League crown from Manchester United and impossible to replace just two weeks before the opening day of the new season.

The returning Chelsea boss is placing significant emphasis on younger, more expressive players in comparison to his previous reign in London, and Luiz fits the bill to a tee.

The versatile defender, who signed from Benfica for £21m in January 2011, has matured into a crucial player at Stamford Bridge following a turbulent start to his Chelsea career. Gary Cahill and skipper John Terry will also be competing for a starting role this season, but José Mourinho has revealed his appreciation of the unique flair the Brazil international offers:

"David has come back with us fantastically and we have to use his quality. He has big self-confidence and self-esteem, especially when he comes up from the back with the ball. Can he improve defensively? Of course. But it is my job to try always to improve players."

Chelsea are currently in Miami to face Real Madrid on Wednesday as part of their tour of the United States, although Luiz will not be involved due to a hamstring strain which also excluded him from the AC Milan match last Sunday.

The Blues will conclude their pre-season preparations against Roma in Washington this Saturday before the Special One makes his eagerly anticipated return to Stamford Bridge against newly-promoted Hull City on 18 August.

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Luke is a Bachelor of Journalism (Sport) student at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. A passionate fan of football competitions across the world, he also contributes to other outlets including The Sportster, GiveMeSport and ChelseaDaft.