Chelsea Close To €25.1 Million Signing Of Benfica Defender David Luiz

Chelsea expect to tie up a deal with Benfica to sign Brazilian international defender David Luiz today, report The Guardian.

The move is likely to cost the Premier League champions a fee of £21.5 million (€25.1m) if the Blues are given the go-ahead with a work permit, the application for which will be heard on Wednesday.

Luiz, 23, was omitted from the Benfica side that beat Nacional 4-2 on Saturday night, and will travel to London for a medical.

All being well, he could be confirmed as a Chelsea player tomorrow subject to the work permit being granted.

Furthermore, it is believed that Chelsea will offer to loan the Portuguese side one or two of their young players as a makeweight in the deal, with Dutch centre-back Jeffrey Bruma mooted.

Luiz has made 126 appearances in five seasons at the Stadio De Luz, scoring six goals.