Chelsea
have agreed a fee with Paris Saint-Germain to re-sign David Luiz and the
defender arrived in London on Wednesday evening ahead of his shock move.
The fee is believed to be £30m and Luiz is now due to have his medical in
the capital. Personal terms are still to be agreed but we understand the
deal is likely to be for three years, with an option for a fourth.
Luiz arrived in London at St Pancras train station ahead of his proposed
move and a Sky source has told us that the player's desire to return to
Chelsea is the only reason the deal has progressed.
He was in Paris on Tuesday and, when he heard PSG had rejected Chelsea's
interest in him, he sought out both PSG's president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and
their sporting director - his fellow countryman Leonardo - in an attempt to
convince them to let him go.
PSG had previously turned down approaches from Chelsea for both Luiz and his
Brazilian team-mate Marquinhos, telling them that neither defender was for
sale.
But a Chelsea statement on Wednesday evening read: "Chelsea Football Club
and Paris Saint-Germain have agreed terms for the transfer of David Luiz
back to London.
"The move is now subject to him agreeing personal terms and passing a
medical."
The 29-year-old Brazilian left Stamford Bridge for France two years ago for
£50m, which remains a world record fee for a defender.
And new Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has made it clear a centre-back was top
of his priority list, with moves for Alessio Romagnoli at AC Milan and
Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli falling through so far.
Sky in Italy reported last week that Chelsea's £30m bid for Romagnoli was
rejected, and that there was a "90 per cent" chance of Koulibaly not moving
to Conte's team.
Chelsea first purchased Luiz in January 2011 from Benfica for £21m.
In his three-year stay in west London, Luiz made 143 appearances for Chelsea
in all competitions, scoring 12 goals.
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