Chelsea are ready to let David Luiz leave the club in January, but ideally only on loan.
The Blues hierarchy know there has been a breakdown between Luiz and head coach Antonio Conte, which saw him dropped from their squad in November.
Luiz has now not played for Chelsea for more than a month, and Conte is happy to on without him with Andreas Christensen shinning in his absence.
Football INDEX Watch – David Luiz – currently at under £1 and is now on out of the top-200.
Chelsea’s bosses do want to force any team changes on Conte, and like they were with Diego Costa, are happy to abide by his decision – which has seen him sold to Atletico Madrid.
And whilst Chelsea will be willing to green-light a Luiz move in January – they still see a future for him at the club, so ideally want it to be a loan.
Luiz believes he could still have a future at the club, but with the World Cup in mind – he wants to make sure his game is at its best and so would be willing to move on loan.
Now Chelsea are already believed to have field enquiries from around Europe’s top clubs, who would be more than happy to take him until the end of the season.
Paddy Power, who make Barcelona favourites to sign him, said: “Bob doesn’t want to be a sideshow at Chelsea, so rumours of a move are gathering pace.
“But our traders, despite the Real Madrid link, reckon Barca is his most likely destination.
“Honestly, if that lad can win titles in three major European leagues, I reckon I’ve still got a chance as a top level centre back.”