Fabrizio Romano confirms Chelsea made 'initial' approach to sign 27y/o midfielder

Chelsea have reportedly made an initial approach to sign Douglas Luiz in the January transfer window. 

After enjoying a successful spell at Aston Villa, Luiz moved to Juventus in the summer of 2024 for a fee of £42.3m, but he struggled to establish himself in Turin. 

The central midfielder made 27 appearances in all competitions in 2024-25 and is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest since joining last August. 

The Brazilian has failed to make an impact at the City Ground, having played only 13 times for them, and could now be set for another spell on loan elsewhere. 

Forest reportedly have an obligation to buy, conditional on the number of appearances Luiz makes, and they also hold a £26m option to buy if he does not hit that number.

Chelsea eye Douglas Luiz loan move? 

© Imago / Sports Press Photo

It has previously been reported that Chelsea are considering a loan move to sign the former Vasco da Gama midfielder. 

According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea has made an initial approach to Juventus to sign the midfielder, and negotiations among all parties involved are needed to make the deal happen. 

The transfer expert claims the Blues have no interest in taking on an obligation to sign the midfielder permanently; they simply want him on loan. 

It will be interesting to see how Forest respond, given that Luiz is not the first choice under Sean Dyche, and it is doubtful they would be willing to pay that amount to make his move permanent. 

Douglas Luiz would be a smart signing on loan for Chelsea 

© Imago

The Blues are choc-a-bloc with midfielders, and have Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos, Dario Essugo and Romeo Lavia as their current options. 

However, Lavia has been plagued by injuries, and Essugo is not yet proven at this level, which means an experienced midfielder could be handy for Chelsea. 

Lavia has failed to complete a full game since joining from Southampton for an initial £53m in 2023 due to injury, and has made only seven appearances this season. 

That being said, Luiz has had six different injuries over the past 15 months, and probably that is why Chelsea want him on loan, and are refusing to commit further.