Chelsea Transfer Rumours: Blues Must Beat Arsenal to Luiz Gustavo Signature

A fervently discussed matter of late has been the wealth of quality midfield options at the disposal of Pep Guardiola in his new role as Bayern Munich manager.

Following the reunion of Guardiola with former Barcelona youngster Thiago Alcantara, Luiz Gustavo has emerged as possibly surplus to requirements at the Allianz Arena.

According to the Metro, the Brazilian international could be available for as little as £14 million, with Arsenal currently seen as the leading contenders for his services, having nudged Chelsea to one side in their pursuit.

Bleacher Report's Cristian Nyari has alleged that the Gunners may be very close to completing the signing via Twitter, too:

Right now, the one storyline dominating transfer matters at Stamford Bridge is whether or not Wayne Rooney will complete a move to West London, but Gustavo presents a set of skills that the club should perhaps place higher on their priorities right now.

It’s important to establish that while Gustavo might be a droppable star at Bayern Munich, this is still a player in quite possibly the most hotly contested midfield in world football right now.

With the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thiago, Toni Kroos, Javi Martinez, Mario Goetze and even David Alaba all competing for a similar spot in the centre of the park, Bayern are still selling off considerable talent at a very valuable fee.

Right now, Chelsea’s options are of a totally different class—and not for the better.

Marco van Ginkel, Ramires, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien will all compete for a starting spot for the Blues, while John Obi Mikel is one of the more defensively minded midfielders at the club and one who’s been linked with a move away from the club of late, per the Daily Mail’s Simon Jones.

In van Ginkel and Ramires, Chelsea have their central playmakers, the string-pulling players capable of releasing the more offensive talents among the squad. However, it remains important to have that anchoring dynamic in midfield, with one player assuming a deeper position centralised around breaking up opposition attacks.

In 22 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern last season, Gustavo managed to maintain the highest passing accuracy of any first-team regular in the double-winning squad at 93 percent, per Squawka.

The Confederations Cup winner also managed to win 57 percent of all his duels, showing the more combative side of his nature and work that the likes of Ramires and van Ginkel perhaps aren’t as proficient at.

Considering the attacking ranks already calling Stamford Bridge their home, it’s further up-field that Jose Mourinho should now concentrate his efforts, the area that will dictate just how much of the ball Juan Mata, Eden Hazard et al. see in the campaign.

While Gustavo’s attributes are far from the most glamorous one will find, the 26-year-old has found what he’s good at and doesn’t strive to do the complicated things instead of sticking to his strengths.

Given how eager Bayern seem in freeing up some midfield space, the £14 million price being quoted could prove an absolute bargain for the team that picks Gustavo up, and Chelsea have the means to outbid Arsenal in this hunt as much as any other.