Chelsea are panicking with bid for David Luiz

Chelsea are poised to overpay for David Luiz

Chelsea desperately need to add a starting-caliber central defender before the summer transfer window slams shut. The Blues are in such a panic, they're being linked with a ridiculous deal for former defender David Luiz.

Reports from England claim that Antonio Conte's club are willing to pay 30 million pounds for the talented Brazilian. Even in today's inflated transfer market, that would represent a significant overpay.

It's not that Luiz isn't a competent centre back. He's played reasonably well for PSG in his two seasons with the club. It's even likely that he could perform at a similar level upon his Premier League return.

The trouble is that Luiz is already 29-years-old. At that age, he's not going to get any better than he already is. It's much more likely that his performance will decline precipitously over the life of a new contract with Chelsea.

That's not the sort of purchase Conte and company should be looking to make. They need to make Chelsea younger. They've had the entire transfer window to find a central defender with significant upside. They're only chasing Luiz now after failing to secure several other top targets.