It seems that the battle of dominance between Manchester United and Chelsea isn’t going to end until the transfer deadline arrives, with the latest rumors pointing at Manchester United thinking about making a move for David Luiz, a player Chelsea have already stopped approaches for earlier in the summer.
According to the Mirror, David Moyes is interested in the Brazilian centre back and the club has made some initial approach to Chelsea regarding the player. Hard to tell if this is only a matter of showing Jose Mourinho he can make offers for Chelsea players as well, or is it actually a concern for his centre back situation, and not believing the Rio Ferdinand – Nemanja Vidic duo, which has done quite well since the start of the season, can hold on without quality backup for the entire season.
Barcelona made a couple of approaches for Luiz, but Chelsea asked for around £50 million for the player. It’s hard to believe anyone will pay so much for a centre back, but the reason Chelsea demanded that much money had to do with it being Barcelona making the offer, and not a different club, although Mourinho has stated more than once that he has no interest in letting the Brazilian go.
Will the price be different for Manchester United? Mourinho might not harbor great hate for the Red Devils and actually wishes to manage them someday, but it’s safe to assume he isn’t going to make it easy for one of his biggest rivals to sign an international central defender who has been missing from the first few games due to injury. Maybe it also has to do with the fact that Mourinho rates other higher than Luiz, but for now there is no indication of planning to sell him.
In all likelihood, this is an attempt to cause some unrest among Chelsea players, directed from United. Moyes has four centre backs to choose from, and that’s not the position he should be spending money on if he’s actually planning on making a signing by the end of the transfer window.