Why Jose Mourinho Re-uniting With David Luiz Makes Perfect Sense For Manchester United
David Luiz has always been a force to be reckoned with at Chelsea but of late, it is quite obvious that the player is not happy at the club. Despite being one of the most crucial members of the Chelsea squad that lifted the title last season, Luiz seems to be in the middle of an alleged fallout with Antonio Conte. The centre-back was unceremoniously dropped for Chelsea’s game against Manchester United. Antonio Conte deployed Andreas Christensen instead and even had 17-year-old Ethan Ampadu on the bench ahead of Luiz.
Manchester United have popped up as one of the initial names believed to be interested in signing the Chelsea ace but should they really make the move for him?
Before anything else, one must not forget that it was Mourinho who shipped Luiz out of the club when he was at the helm of things at Stamford Bridge. Moreover, the current Manchester United boss often played him out of position at Chelsea while also sidelining him for a couple of matches. However, it does seem likely that the duo is ready to bury the hatchet and move on.
It is understood that Mourinho is closely monitoring Luiz’s situation at Chelsea and is plotting a January move. Luiz did put up stellar performances for the Blues towards the back end of last season, which eventually helped them in the race to win the title. With the current situation involving Manchester City’s meteoric rise, it is becoming increasingly difficult for United to keep up.
Hence, Mourinho could be eyeing this as a move to strengthen their chances. As of now, the United manager has the likes of Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof as recognised centre-backs. Jones and Bailly have been incredible individually and also together, but both players continue to teeter in and out of injuries, making the situation all the more difficult.
Lindelof is yet to make a strong impact for the Red Devils and his transfer itself seems wasteful at this point. United are already struggling with filling the left-back role and cannot afford to have more problems at the back especially since they have coasted out of danger in most of their games owing to strong defensive performances.
In this situation, a move for Luiz does make sense. He has lifted the Premier League trophy with Chelsea and also has adequate experience in operating as a centre-back. Moreover, the fact that he is versatile enough to be deployed as a midfielder will only benefit Mourinho in the long run as challenges and fixtures get tougher.
However, while this does seem like a quick-fix solution, it should be noted that the duo had quite an explosive rapport at Chelsea, and United cannot afford to have a power struggle between their manager and player when trying to make a serious title challenge.