Transfer rumours about a £20 million offer from Chelsea for Atletico Madrid defender Filipe Luis appears true after the player’s agent confirmed that the blues are interested.
Chelsea have been linked with a stunning swoop for Filipe Luis, who has a £20 million release clause in his contract. He becomes the third Atletico player to be linked with Chelsea after Diego Costa and Tiago Mendes. Chelsea spend around £50 million – the same money received from the sale of David Luiz – on these three players. Luis’ agent, Garcia Quilon, has confirmed that Chelsea have enquired about his client, but Atletico Madrid remain keen on the stance that they would not sell their top players. According to AS, he said: “The interest [from Chelsea] is there, but Atletico do not want to sell. It has been decided to keep most of the group together for next season. We will see what happens with different players, but the intention is not to sell anyone.” A few days ago, Atletico Madrid chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin stated that the club will not sell top players. “Fortunately this club does not need to sell any of its players,” Gil Marin said. Quite funny considering that they were saying ahead of the Champions League semi-final that they could not afford the £5 million fee required to field Thibaut Courtois against Chelsea. Atletico Madrid are in a huge cash crisis, but winning the league title and finishing as the Champions League runners up last season will help them alleviate those problems to a significant extent. Despite this, they are expected to sell top players, as they have consistently done in the last few years, like Costa. After the exit of Ashley Cole, Chelsea are thought to be keen on a left back. Luke Shaw appears to have been priced out of the move at £30 million. Luis appears to be the cheaper alternative zeroed in by Chelsea, although £20 million for a defender is definitely not cheap.