Why Chelsea should definitely offer David Luiz a one-year extension
According to the Mirror, Chelsea defender David Luiz might be on the move given the club’s policy of handing just one-year extensions on their contracts for players above the age of 30. The Brazilian is 31 years old at the moment and his contract expires at the end of the season.
Luiz will be free to begin pre-contract talks with other clubs when the transfer window reopens in January but the right move would be to hand the defender another year on his contract. Despite coming under increasing criticism after his dull performance against Tottenham Hotspur, Luiz showed up in fine form against champions Manchester City.
The Blues dispatched Pep Guardiola’s side 2-0 at the Stamford Bridge with David Luiz heading in the decisive second goal on the night after N’Golo Kante scored the opener. The £120k-a-week Brazilian also looked superb defensively and kept the likes of Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez at bay for most of the game.
Luiz went on from villain to club hero in the matter of one week and that is why Chelsea should hold onto him for another season at least. It’s the experience and wisdom that the 31-year-old possesses which makes him such a good asset at the club.
He is a Premier League winner at the club and did very well in his previous stint at the London club. Surely, his performance levels have dropped slightly and Luiz will never be the aggressive goal-scoring defender he once was, but he would still be a perfect squad member.
Chelsea do have Andreas Christensen on the bench and other options in Kurt Zouma, who is currently out on loan. Antonio Rudiger has established himself alongside the Brazilian this season and will surely continue to feature regularly.
This means that offloading Luiz before bringing in another able replacement would leave the club short on central defenders. Chelsea must surely keep him at the helm for another season and utilise him as a squad player. Luiz is not a bad option to bring off the bench given the defender can pop up with the occasional goal as well.
The fact that Sarri has resorted to using the Brazilian over young talent Christensen shows how qualified he is even at such a ripe age.
Luiz definitely has another season or two in him and that is why Chelsea must hand the centre-back a one-year extension at the end of the season.