Reports in the media this week have linked Chelsea with a £20m bid for Filipe Luis.
The Atletico Madrid left-back heavily featured in the club’s title-winning campaign, appearing in 32 La Liga fixtures in a season that saw the Champions keep 20 clean sheets.
Confirmed that Filipe luis will join @chelseafc, that is going to pay the exit clause (€25M)
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) June 16, 2014
Some sources state that the deal is edging closer to completion, with Mourinho supposedly very interested in the left-back. The 28 year-old was not included in Brazil’s World Cup squad, so any deal could potentially happen within the next few weeks.
Luis played an important role when Atletico visited Stamford Bridge last month, in a game which saw the Spanish side leave with a 3-1 victory. The Brazilian is one of a number of targets from the Madrid-based team, with speculation over Koke and Thiago continuing.
The left-back would undoubtedly be a fantastic asset to the Chelsea squad; a very attack-minded player with a noticeably impressive crossing ability is nothing short of what the Blues need next season.
Azpilicueta currently occupies the left-back spot, and with player of the year performances such as those seen last season, it would be difficult to see the Spaniard being excluded from the starting line-up.
However, a right-footed player in left-back slightly limits our options when attacking down the left side.
Azpilicueta likes to cut inside onto his preferred right foot, so the addition of Luis would see more crosses into the box, which perhaps suits a new philosophy with the likely transfer of Diego Costa.
Any deal that may happen is likely to be in the region of £20m, which would leave Chelsea with a large budget to continue spending in the window.
What do you think? As ever, comments, opinions and views welcome below.
