Chelsea Transfer Rumours: Barcelona Director Flies to London to Lure David Luiz

Barcelona director Raul Sanllehi has traveled to London in an attempt to secure the signing of flamboyant Chelsea star David Luiz.

Sanllehi, who is in charge of Barcelona's transfer and contract negotiations, is set for a meeting with the Brazilian's agent Giuliano Bertolucci, according to the Daily Mail's David Kent.

UPDATE: Wednesday, Aug. 7, at 7:10 a.m. ET by Ben Blackmore

From Sky Sports News:

"

Sky sources: Barcelona make official bid for Chelsea defender David Luiz #SSN

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 7, 2013"

---End of update---

---Original text---

Kent reports:

"

The Spanish champions believe Luiz is keen to join them and will press further once Chelsea return from their US tour at the weekend.

The 26-year-old will miss Chelsea's match with Real Madrid in Miami tomorrow with a suspected hamstring injury.

Luiz, who only returned from Confederations Cup duty for this leg of the club’s world tour, has played just 30 minutes of preseason, in the match with Inter Milan last Thursday.

"

The utility man, who can play both in defence and in midfield, has attracted a lot of attention since his move from Portuguese side Benfica in 2011 with high-profile gaffes as well as moments of magic—particularly from set plays.

Despite Luiz's relative lack of playing time this preseason, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho acted quickly in declaring how important the player was to the team. The Portuguese has recently stated in the Sun (subscription required) there is "no chance" of Luiz leaving Stamford Bridge, with the player signing a bumper contract last year that ties him to the club for the foreseeable future.

Charles Perrin of The Express quotes Mourinho as saying:

"

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.

"

The Telegraph's Jason Burt suggests Barcelona are likely to offer a fee in the range of £34.5 million to secure the services of the Brazilian. However, Kent believes the Blues' valuation of Luiz stands at around £40 million.

The transfer saga could well run through the remainder of this summer transfer window with Barcelona in no rush to secure the signing whilst Chelsea remain in the USA, despite looking to bolster their defence after the announcement of Eric Abidal's retirement and the fact Carles Puyol is in the twilight stages of his career.

Chelsea face Mourinho's former side, and Luiz's possible future rivals, Real Madrid in the final of the Guinness International Cup in Miami on Thursday, although the Blues confirmed on their Twitter account Luiz won't feature.