Reports: Chelsea ‘exploring a move’ for Douglas Luiz

Story byDavid PasztorFri, January 23, 2026 at 5:17 AM UTC·1 min readAccording to The Athletic and the BBC, Chelsea are “interested” in midfielder Douglas Luiz and are “exploring a move” over a potential loan for him (and nothing more than that, as per Fabrizio Romano). None of this makes too much sense of course, but sense isn’t ever a necessary ingredient to transfer market rumors and activities. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd that’s not to say that Douglas Luiz is a bad player per sé, but beyond the fact that he is 27 and thus surely far too old for the Chelsea “pRoJeCt”, we seem to be doing just fine in central midfield. Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo are first names on any teamsheet at any and every reasonable opportunity, with Andrey Santos more than a capable backup to either, and Reece James seeing plenty of action there, too. And Dário Essugo is just about to return to action as well.