Chelsea prepared to sell David Luiz in January after a bust-up with boss Antonio Conte
Brazilian centre-back has played just once for the Premier League champions since being dropped by Conte in October
CHELSEA are preparing to sell David Luiz in January, following a bust-up with boss Antonio Conte.
The Brazilian centre-back, 30, has played just once for the Premier League champions since being dropped by Conte in October.
Blues chief Conte dropped Luiz after the pair were involved in a heated exchange following the 3-0 Champions League drubbing at the hands of Roma.
After leaving Luiz out for the the 1-0 win over Manchester United, Conte urged the defender to work harder or face watching on from the stands.
The Italian boss revealed: "He has to work really hard otherwise he is on the bench or in the stands.”
Luiz has fallen well out of favour with Conte, as the Italian has preferred youngster Andreas Christensen, 21, in the heart of his defence.
Now, Juventus appear to be lining-up a £23m swoop for the Brazilian as a replacement for Leonardo Bonucci, who shocked the club with a summer move to AC Milan.
Manchester United are also interested in the former Paris Saint-Germain man to bolster their flimsy defensive line.
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When asked about Luiz's future, Conte only helped intensify the speculation, by calling Christensen the "present and the future".
He quipped: “I don’t know [about Luiz]. Andreas Christensen is the present and the future for Chelsea.”
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Since his Roma dropping, Luiz has only played in the 4-0 win over Qarabag last month - becoming the latest star to be frozen-out, following Diego Costa.
The Spanish forward is set to make his move to Atletico Madrid official in the January window - after he too fell out with Conte.
Recently Costa has shown off his incredible transformation as he edges closer to his footballing comeback.