Bayern manager Pep Guardiola sees central defence as one of the few areas where he can improve the European champions and has long been an admirer of Luiz.
Chelsea maintain the 26-year-old Brazilian, who signed a new five-year contract last September, is not for sale and manager Jose Mourinho tried to quash suggestions that Luiz is not his type of centre half during an in-depth interview on the team’s tour of Asia.
Wanted: Bayern Munich are ready to make a £40million-plus offer for Chelsea defender David Luiz
No issue: Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has refuted claims Luis is not his sort of player as a defender
Instructing: Bayern manager Pep Guardiola has identified the defence as an area to be improved upon
‘The potential is incredible, amazing,’ said Mourinho, when asked about Luiz. ‘He always has to play. For me he is a central defender.’
But the rumours refuse to vanish where Luiz is concerned.
Yesterday, the Catalan newspaper Sport reported that Barcelona are ready to move for Luiz, who joined Chelsea from Benfica for £25m in January 2011.
Paris Saint-Germain are also said to be interested if they lose Thiago Silva to Barcelona. Several wealthy European clubs are in the market for a stylish centre half; someone who is quick and confident on the ball and not many players fit the criteria.
Back in blue: Luiz (centre) returned to Chelsea with fellow Confederations Cup stars Oscar, Fernando Torres, Cesar Azpilicueta and Juan Mata (left-right)
New signing? Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala (left) has been identified by Chelsea as a possible defensive target
Luiz does, but if Chelsea sell him they will inherit the problem of how to replace him. Mourinho likes Eliaquim Mangala but Porto have made it clear they want more than £35m for the 22-year-old French international.
The future of Luiz is one of the issues Mourinho will have to address when he meets his entire squad for the first time since he returned to the club from Real Madrid.
Luiz is one of six Chelsea players who featured in the Confederations Cup and were excused from the tour of Asia but will report to the Cobham training ground today before leaving tomorrow on the next leg of pre-season in the USA.
Distraught: Bayern, with Thomas Muller, lost the German Supercup 4-2 to rivals Borussia Dortmund (below)
Mourinho spoke to the absent six on the phone when he started the job, but did not make a special effort to contact Luiz or Juan Mata when their names appeared in connection with a possible part-exchange deal for Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.
Chelsea have been at pains to point out that they don’t want either player to leave and they hope Mata will open negotiations over a new contract in the near future.
Luiz and Mata, however, will expect confirmation of precisely where they stand in the manager’s plans from the man himself, as will Fernando Torres, for whom the signs have been clear since Chelsea confirmed their written bid for Rooney.
Exit door? Fernando Torres and John Obi Mikel (below) have been linked with a move away from Chelsea
Mourinho has voiced his concerns about Torres, explaining that he does not think the £50m striker is able to operate as he would like in congested spaces against teams who pack their defences, as teams tend to against Chelsea.
John Mikel Obi is another player it has been suggested could move away from Stamford Bridge.
The Nigerian has been linked with a possible transfer to Turkish giants Galatasaray.
Chelsea in turn are interested in Brazilian defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo, who plays for Bayern
