Chelsea Transfer News: Rejecting David Luiz Bid Will Preserve EPL Title Hopes

After finishing third in the EPL last season, Chelsea have title aspirations this year. The Blues are very much in the mix, but centre-back David Luiz will be integral to their success. Because of that, Chelsea are wise to ignore the overtures that are being sent in his direction.

According to Martin Lipton of the Daily Mirror, the Blues recently rejected Barcelona's £35 million bid, and it is believed that Barca will have to increase their bid to £50 million at the very least before Chelsea even consider making a move.

While it's tough to justify spending £50 million on Luiz, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho certainly knows what he's doing. No club is going to touch Luiz at that price, which is exactly why Chelsea are asking that much.

Mourinho believes Luiz will be a huge part of Chelsea's title bid this season, according to Sky Sports Football, so there is a definite unwillingness to let him go.

Chelsea's back line is one of their biggest strengths as Luiz, Ashley Cole, Gary Cahill, John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta make for a formidable unit.

Scoring will obviously be important for the Blues this season as the likes of Eden Hazard and Juan Mata will need to come up big, but playing solid defense will be the deciding factor in whether or not Chelsea can overtake the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal.

It's no surprise that Barcelona have taken a liking to Luiz, though, as he would significantly strengthen their defense. While Luiz isn't the most offensive-minded defender out there, he would immediately become Barca's most physical and effective defensive player, according to Squawka Football.

While Chelsea could potentially do some exciting things with the £35 million that Barcelona are offering, they could fall into the trap of chasing style over substance.

Despite his wild head of hair, Luiz is far from the most exciting player on the pitch. What he does so well, though, is making the simple plays necessary to keep opposing squads off the scoreboard.

It certainly can't be a coincidence that Chelsea have been significantly better with Luiz in the lineup since he joined the team in 2010-11. According to WhoScored.com, the Blues have earned nearly a half point more per game with Luiz as a starter than with him on the bench.

That is quite significant, especially in the EPL, as each and every point counts. Chelsea admittedly finished well behind Manchester United last season, but the gap seems to be closing. Allowing Luiz to walk would open the Red Devils' advantage right back up again, and that is something that Chelsea supporters obviously don't want to see.

Losing Luiz would hurt Chelsea in more ways than one as the Brazilian star is also a fiery leader. According to Lipton, the powers that be at Chelsea view Luiz as the heir apparent to Terry's spot as captain. Luiz has a way of rallying the troops, and his effort is infectious, so the Blues would be crazy to throw all of that away.

Luiz brings so much to the table for Chelsea that selling him at this juncture could ruin the Blues' season before it even starts.

Chelsea appear to have all the elements necessary to make a run at an EPL championship this year, and Luiz is undoubtedly a key element. Perhaps a transfer is something that could happen down the line, but there is no way that the Blues should grant one right now.

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