Prior to the World Cup in his home soil, David Luiz was subject to a record shattering £50m transfer to Paris Saint Germain from Chelsea, where he would join his national defence partner Thiago Silva.
“Sideshow Bob” as he is fondly known, David Luiz was preferred by Rafael Benitez in the defensive midfield rather than centre back, which even Jose Mourinho realised sooner than later, when he employed him in a rather new position as a free defensive player. Luiz, not known to be an assured no-nonsense defender is an amazing ball player, but was a terrible misfit in Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea back four.
The continuous inclusion of all-action yet error prone David Luiz in the Brazil first team instead of the more functional Dante, was always a topic of debate among supporters and it was pretty much obvious after his rollercoaster season with Chelsea, that his big money move was more of an over-valuation of his talent. But, Luiz the ‘Geezer’, the Brazil Vice-Captain has suddenly risen to the occasion and has given all round performances for his country having two goals to his name already, one which was a stunning free kick that sent Brazil to the Semi Finals.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho never liked Luiz as a centre back, but loved him as an all action defensive midfielder. Playing in defensive midfield, was probably not an issue for Luiz as he anyway loves to attack, but that was a certain question mark on his defensive abilities and a sheer lack of trust by both Benitez and Mourinho in playing Luiz at the back. This caught the eye of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who like highly technical players. Luiz being among the best technically gifted defenders was widely expected to ply his trade for Barcelona or Bayern as he fits in their philosophy of defending high up and applying pressure, while also starting attacking moves from the back.
While he was valued at about £25m by both the clubs, Paris Saint Germain came with an ‘overrated’ bid of 50 million that was irresistible for the Blues. So as of now, there is absolutely no error on Chelsea’s part as such a high bid for a defender meant that this would be an excellent financial decision that gives them even more breathing space with FFP rules.
But looking at his World Cup performances, which have been a revelation in terms of his defensive qualities as well as he has stepped up with 10 interceptions and 75 % victory in Aerial Duels, both stats which are more than what other top defenders like Thiago Silva, Mats Hummels and Vincent Kompany managed, the valuation of 50 million is starting to look like it was worth it after all, especially as he performs several times better overall with close friend Thiago Silva as his partner.
So have Chelsea erred? The Final Verdict:
Luiz is a centre back who is tailor made for teams trying to impose themselves on the opposition and like to use the offside trap for defence. David Luiz may be a bit tactically naïve in his positioning for sheer stopping and blocking attackers, but is more of an enforcer in the defence who helps set the tempo in the defensive areas as well. Selling a modern centre back like him but for a hefty sum like 50 million, seems a fair decision only because of Jose Mourinho’s preference for no-nonsense defending and obviously, again, the fee involved.
But it is also questionable when we consider Chelsea’s policies. Chelsea have Mourinho currently who likes a solid style of play, but if he fails to deliver to the expectations of Roman Abramovic, then it is likely that even he may get axed, leading to another top manager who may prefer the more high pressure flair based game which requires Luiz and not Cahill. So unless Chelsea decide to use Mourinho for long term, which looks pretty certain as of now, this deal looks very fair to both Chelsea and PSG, which looked more like a rip off for PSG before the World Cup.
Stats via squawka
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