Anderlecht defender Wout Faes has revealed that Chelsea tried to sign him three years ago, but they employed an unusual tactic in order to persuade him to make the move to Stamford Bridge.
The 19 year old has hair very similar to defender David Luiz and as a joke on his sixteenth birthday, the Blues sent him a replica shirt with David Luiz’s name on the back. In an interview with Voetbal International magazine, Faes explains Chelsea’s ploy in trying to sign him:
“There was interest from England which I quickly turned away. What would I have done as a boy of sixteen now in England? Had I done it then I would have earned [a lot of money], but I’m not doing it. Chelsea sent me a shirt from David Luiz for my sixteenth birthday. A smart marketing ploy of course…. I’m not tempted by such a thing, it’s no trouble for them to send such a shirt. It was a charm offensive.”
Faes is currently on loan at Dutch Eredivisie side Excelsior and he went on to say in the interview that he dislikes the comparisons to David Luiz. Although he knows he plays in the same position as the Brazilian and has a similar hairstyle, he believes he is a unique individual. Crucially though he did not rule out a move to the Blues in the future if such an opportunity arises again, but he thinks it will be unlikely that he will play alongside his doppelganger:
“I’m fine, this is me. I’m Wout Faes, no copy of David Luiz. [The possibility of] ever playing together? If I can ever make the move to a big club, he’s probably [on] a lucrative contract signed in the Middle East.”
