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Atletico defender set for Chelsea medical

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Atletico Madrid leftback Filipe Luis is set to arrive in London later this week for his medical with Chelsea after their bid for the Brazilian activated his release clause.

The 28 year-old played a big part in securing Atletico Madrid’s La Liga title last season as they shocked rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid to win the trophy on the final day of last season as they also reached the Champions League final, only to be defeated by their Madrid rivals. Diego Simeone is reluctant to let the fullback leave but is powerless to the situation as Luis had a ÂŁ20 million buy-out clause written into his contract upon signing in 2010.

He joined the Club from Deportivo La Coruna in a deal worth up to ÂŁ11 million. He spent 4 seasons at Deportivo and made 127 appearances for Atleti, scoring two goals in the process. He has 4 Brazil caps but was, to many people’s suprise, left out of their World Cup squad for this summer’s tournament.

Chelsea had been in the market for a left sided defender after releasing Ashley Cole at the end of last season, who has since signed a two year contract with Roma. Also, Ryan Bertrand could leave Stamford Bridge as his first team opportunities look limited for next season. Chelsea’s need for a leftback was highlighted last season when they had to revert to using the right footed Cesar Azpilicueta as an emergency leftback which somewhat limited them going forward, but Luis’ attacking capabilities coupled with his defensive qualities make him a perfect fit for the Stamford Bridge side.

Luis was part of Atletico’s defence alongside fellow Brazilian Miranda, Uruguayan Diego Godin and Spain’s Juanfran to concede just 26 goals in total throughout La Liga last campaign. Luis will be the third player that represented Atletico last season to pull on Chelsea blue in 2014/15, as Courtois returns from his loan spell and striker Diego Costa joined earlier last month so he’ll have some familiar faces around him as Chelsea look to win back the League title having not won the trophy since 2010.

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