There's a comprehensive report by the Guardian (albeit a very unsourced one) that goes into some excrutiating detail about why the David Luiz transfer has yet to come off for Chelsea. Here, apparently, are the facts.
- Luiz has agreed in principle to a four year, £45,000 per week contract.
- Benfica thought the £25.5M transfer fee was to be paid up front.
- Chelsea were planning to pay in installments.
- Benfica want the money - or at least, more of it, in one lump sum up front.
- Luiiz's work permit has already been secured.
Talks aren't dead, despite the holdup, and despite Luiz playing in Benfica's game against Rio Ave earlier today (he missed a penalty, which means he'll fit in well with Chelsea's current defensive corps). Benfica could really use the money as fast as they can so that they can reinvest it quickly before the transfer market closes, and to do that they'll need Chelsea to contribute a lot more up-front than they were planning to. Negotiations will now presumably centre on how much exactly Chelsea will be paying now rather than in installments, but it's very hard to see Benfica pulling out of the discussion so late.
Also, how nice is that reported Luiz contract? Remember that Steven Pienaar was seeking £70,000 per week to be an adequate bench player and that John Terry makes £150,000 per week. Luiz's proposed deal would leave his total price per year at a touch over £2.4M, which means that haggling over the price at this stage seems somewhat pointless for Chelsea. Should the deal go through (and all indications are that it still will, despite the hubbub), this is an excellent, excellent piece of business by Chelsea - and they shouldn't be haggling over a few million when Luiz's entire contract isn't even worth £10M.