Chelsea are only willing to proceed with a move for Douglas Luiz if Juventus will accept a straight loan for the midfielder, according to reports.
Luiz is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest where has made eight Premier League appearances so far this season.
Sean Dyche’s side will reportedly be obliged to buy Luiz for a fee of around €25 million (£22m) if he makes 15 Premier League appearances by the end of the season.
However, Chelsea are now seeking to hijack that loan and bring Luiz to Stamford Bridge to provide them with additional cover in central midfield.
Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Andrey Santos are the only three natural central midfielders available to Liam Rosenior, with Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo still out with long-term injuries.
Talks between Chelsea and Juventus are said to have been opened, and Luiz is open to the move, but journalist Fabrizio Romano insists the Blues will only move forward with the deal if there is no obligation to buy the midfielder in the summer.
‘Chelsea have made contact with Juventus to ask about Douglas Luiz,’ Romano said on his YouTube channel. ‘So now club-to-club talks are starting but let’s see because it’s still initial conversations.
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‘Chelsea Enzo, Moi Caicedo and Andrey Santos but they want one more and Douglas Luiz on a loan deal from Juventus is a concrete possibility.
‘The player is open to joining Chelsea, so now it depends on Chelsea and Juventus to try and reach an agreement. Chelsea are only interested in a loan deal, Chelsea don’t want any obligation-to-buy element.
‘They don’t want to be forced to buy Douglas Luiz in the summer. If they can do a deal on loan for the next six months, Chelsea would be happy to proceed. Otherwise, if these conditions are not right Chelsea will leave the conversation.’
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Chelsea boss Rosenior insisted the club must ensure they bring in the ‘right’ kind of player if they are to dip into the market for central midfield cover before the end of the window.
‘In terms of my midfield options you’ve got Enzo [Fernandez], Moi [Caicedo], Andrey Santos, Reece James. It’s not bad,’ he said.
‘I’ve been really clear on this. I don’t want to bring in players that don’t enhance the group or the chemistry that we’re building.
‘So we have to be very selective at this stage of the season. If we do bring in the right player in a certain position, they have to have a clear impact on the team.’
Meanwhile, Forest boss Sean Dyche said there was no surprise that other clubs were interested in luring Luiz away from his loan at the City Ground.
‘He is a very good player,’ said Dyche of Luiz on Friday. ‘I said when we played him in Europe (before Christmas) we probably rushed him back, but because of his experience he has used that wisely to be back.
‘It doesn’t surprise me there is interest from other clubs in good players. That’s the nature of the business.
‘It’s a doubled-edged sword. You sort of want people interested in your players, that means they are doing a good job and are good players, but you don’t because you don’t want them coming knocking on the door.
‘That’s part of modern football.’
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