Chelsea Transfer Rumours: Blues Smart to Reject Barcelona Interest in David Luiz

You can't have him, Barcelona. Now get over it.

That's essentially what Chelsea said in regard to David Luiz. The Guardian's Steve Brenner reported:

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Chelsea have instantly rejected a £35m bid from Barcelona for David Luiz. The La Liga champions lodged the offer for the 26-year-old late on Tuesday but José Mourinho has told them to forget about signing the Brazilian or anyone else from Stamford Bridge.

The manager sees David Luiz as a core member of the squad with which he intends to take the Premier League title from Manchester United and says he has no interest in selling his best players. The player, who arrived from Benfica in January 2011 for £21m, has been earmarked as an untouchable by Mourinho – along with Oscar, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard.

Furthermore the Chelsea manager believes it will be impossible to replace a player of the Brazil defender's stature with the new season less than two weeks away, meaning there is no chance of the defender moving on.

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The best move Chelsea could make the rest of the summer is to inform any other clubs that Luiz is off-limits. Even if a club wants to pay £40 or £50 million, it's not going to be able to get the 26-year-old Brazilian.

Given his skill set, he's not the kind of defender you can just go and immediately find, especially in the second week of August, with less than a month until the transfer window closes. There are few centre-backs who are as composed on the ball and skilled in the air. You just don't see defenders like him picking out 30-yard passes up the pitch to the feet of his teammate.

Unless Chelsea would be able to secure the signature of Mats Hummels, there's no way you justify selling Luiz.

His improvement over the past couple of seasons has been so enjoyable to watch. He's gone from a mistake-prone centre-back, to a defender who's great going forward, to a possible defensive midfielder, to finally one of the best central defenders in the world.

Anybody who's still doubting Luiz's defensive ability only need to think back to his performance at the 2013 Confederations Cup, namely that superb goal-line clearance.

You also have to consider how much Luiz will grow as a player under Jose Mourinho. Mourinho is a very pragmatic manager, always relying heavily on his defenders. As a result, those same defenders generally see marked improvements in their games. Given defending is arguably Luiz's biggest weakness, he's going to become an even more complete player over the next few seasons.

In terms of value, he's probably not going to be worth much more than he is this summer. With most clubs, that could be a motivation to sell.

Given Chelsea's money situation, that shouldn't really be a problem. The Blues don't have to worry about transfer fees and balancing the budget. They can keep him and give him just about as much wage-wise as any other club in the world, save maybe Paris Saint-Germain.

There's no professional or personal reason he should feel Chelsea isn't the club for him.

That's great news for Chelsea, because down the road, Luiz is the kind of player you could easily see become captain.

You generally look to defensive midfielders, centre-backs or goalkeepers to be the captains, considering how they play deeper on the pitch.

Luiz ticks that box.

You also would like a captain to be a good representative off the pitch and illustrate all the good things for which your club stands. It's not a necessity by any means, as evidenced by John Terry, but it's definitely an advantage.

Luiz ticks that box as well.

The centre-back is also the kind of presence on the pitch where he'll be able to speak with the official when necessary and also get his teammates in line.

In modern football, you generally don't see players staying at clubs for long periods of time. With Luiz and Chelsea, you have what could be a very fruitful partnership for years to come.