Romano hints Chelsea loan move could happen despite talks with European giants “not advancing” | OneFootball

At this stage of the January transfer window, every day brings a new name to the rumour mill – and today’s was the turn of Douglas Luiz.

Simon Phillips reported this morning on his Substack that Chelsea were among the teams considering an offer for the Juventus midfielder. Now, just a few hours later, the top transfer authority around, Fabrizio Romano, has given his view.

He points out that Manchester City actually got their enquiry in first, while Chelsea “have also asked about a potential loan.” But actually, it seems like a fruitless task, as Juventus have “no intention” of making the former Aston Villa man available for loan, despite his lack of playing time for them this season.

“Negotiations are not advancing, ” the transfer guru concluded.

There were also whispers from other sources that the Blues couldn’t agree on Juve’s demands for the Brazilian for a loan deal. Understandably, Chelsea don’t want to commit to a future purchase, given the talent they have out on loan.

Situation means Chelsea still have a chance to sign Brazilian

Douglas Luiz in a photo montage with Enzo Maresca (Photo by Julian Finney, Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

That seems to put things to bed, but there does seem to be a little sliver of a possibility here. Romano says that Juventus have no intention of loaning him out “at this stage”, which doesn’t rule it out entirely. Chelsea need a midfielder, Juventus aren’t using their expensive summer buy, and could use the wages elsewhere.

While we’ll believe Romano that any deal is a long way off, there’s surely a chance something can be sorted in the next 12 days.

Luiz would be an able midfield deputy for Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, now it’s very clear that Romeo Lavia can’t be relied upon to be available consistently.