Song and Alexis part of David Luiz bid

Posted Saturday, May 17, 2014 by Marca.com

One of the ways Barcelona aims to strengthen their team in defence is by signing David Luiz. The Catalan club unsuccessfully tried to sign the Brazilian defender last year in a deal worth €25 million, but the English club turned the offer down. Now, Barcelona are back on the hunt, but Chelsea are looking to get €35 million for the player.

However, Barcelona are not prepared to pay such a high price. There are various gaps to be filled in the squad for next season that will require a considerable outlay, so the club will have little choice but to let some players go in return. So far, only two names have been placed on the negotiating table - those of Song and Alexis Sánchez, although the list could grow longer if Chelsea are interested in others.

Song hasn't ever really fitted into the team's style of playing and looks most likely to leave Barça. Plus, he's well known in the Premier League and plays in the exact same position as David Luiz does at Chelsea. Alexis is another option that might interest Mourinho, who is after two new strikers for next season.

Barcelona will have to tread carefully in both cases so as not to incur losses in their annual balance of payments, as neither one is fully paid for. In the case of the Cameroon player, €12 million is still outstanding, whilst in the case of the Chilean, the outstanding figure is €10 million.