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Chelsea up bid to £15m for Luis

Chelsea have reportedly made an improved £15 million bid to sign Filipe Luis from Atletico Madrid after Ashley Cole agreed a two-year contract with Roma.

The Premier League club had already had a £12m offer rejected, according to the Times, but Luis is top of manager Jose Mourinho's wanted list and the need for a replacement for Cole growing after the possibility of signing Luke Shaw disappeared when he moved from Southampton to Manchester United.

However, Atletico are not said to be holding firm on their £19m asking price for the Brazilian, which is thought to be the value of his buyout clause.

Sporting Lisbon's Marcus Rojo and Sevilla's Alberto Moreno have also been reportedly sounded out as potential replacements for Cole, although Liverpool also hold interest in the pair.

Mourinho is thought to have presented a selection of players to Chelsea's board but Luis remains his preferred candidate and Atletico's stubborn insistence on buyout clauses is a hurdle the club look like they will have to try to negotatie for the second time this summer.

All the La Liga club's players have buyout clauses in their contracts, The Times reports, and, with growing interest in their key players being greeted by discontent in Madrid, they are expected to take a similar approach to the one they adopted for the sale of Diego Costa.

The stance proved successful before Chelsea effectively tied up a £32m deal for Costa, with Mourinho having shown an interest in the striker months before.

Atletico have also turned down reported bids from both Barcelona and Chelsea for midfielder Koke. He has since signed a new five-year deal at the club, while defender Juanfran has also signed on for another four years.

Atletico are determined not to see Diego Simeone's La Liga winning side disrupted without significant compensation. However, they have had little influence over the future of one of the key players in their success, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who was on loan from Chelsea and is set to return to Stamford Bridge.

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