London 2012 Olympics: Chelsea Star in Brazil Squad
Napoli are preparing a move for Chelsea midfielder Raul Meireles.
Chelsea defender David Luiz has been called up to represent Brazil at the 2012 London Olympics.
Luiz will be one of the three players in the squad who can be over the age of 23, the Blues confirmed. The centre-back will join up with his Brazil teammates on 9 July for training before they take on Great Britain in a pre-tournament friendly at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough on 20 July.
The London Olympics' football tournament is scheduled from 26 July to 11 August, with the new Premier League campaign set to kick off a week after.
Meanwhile, Napoli are preparing a move for Chelsea midfielder Raul Meireles, according to reports.
Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri, who is resigned to losing forward Ezequiel Lavezzi to Paris Saint Germain, has made the Portuguese star one of his top transfer targets for the summer, reports ESPN. The Daily Mirror claims that the Italian club's president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has made contact with Meireles' agent regarding a potential £8mn deal.
The 29 year old, who joined the Blues from Liverpool last summer, is presently on national duty at Euro 2012 and has refused to be drawn on the speculation, insisting that he is concentrating only on Wednesday's semi final encounter between Portugal and defending champions Spain.
"I am focused on the Euros and cannot think about my future now," the reports quote Meireles as saying.
In other Chelsea news, England manager Roy Hodgson has praised the professionalism shown by John Terry at the Euros.
Hodgson selected Terry over Manchester United veteran Rio Ferdinand and the Blues skipper repaid the former Liverpool manager's belief with some solid performances in Ukraine.
"As a coach you have to be very careful taking on board these rumours, fears and suggestions. It is so important you choose the players you think are the right ones, that you work with them and get the experience for yourself. I can only talk about John and the four or five weeks I have been working with him. He has been a top-class professional and very good off the field as well," Daily Mail quoted Hodgson as saying.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.