Why Chelsea's Sarri appointment is a welcome reprieve for Luiz
Many a football fan laughed when Chelsea decided to re-sign David Luiz two years ago as the Blues struggled to bolster at the back. Alessio Romagnoli, Leonardo Bonucci and Kalidou Koulibaly were all linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in the wake of Antonio Conte’s appointment, with it expected that the Italian would raid Serie A in his bid to add another ball playing defender to the ranks.
As deadline day neared, though, Chelsea became desperate and elected to bring Luiz back to London, two years after selling him to PSG for a then-world-record-for-a-defender £50m. While the 31-year-old’s return was scoffed at, with it thought Chelsea spent big to land the error-prone centre-back in a fit of desperation, the west London side, and the defender, had the last laugh.
Conte was tipped to implement a three-man defence upon his appointment, and while it wasn’t until midway through an away defeat at Arsenal before we witnessed the system, once Chelsea moved to a three-man defence, they sauntered to the Premier League title with Luiz one of the key men. The Brazil international was deployed at the heart of the three-man backline where he was able to maximise his range of passing and Chelsea were all the better for his impact at the back.
Indeed, a WhoScored rating of 7.16 in Chelsea’s title winning campaign was one of the better returns for the Blues. However, while he was a regular feature in the Blues backline in Conte’s debut campaign in England, Luiz made just 10 league appearances last term due to a combination of injury and falling out of favour with the boss. He has made just three competitive starts for Chelsea this year, one of which was a 4-1 dismantling at the hands of Watford in February. There were January rumours of a possible exit, with Arsenal supposedly interested in the experienced Brazilian, though any potential move away from Chelsea didn’t come to fruition.
Conte’s dismissal now provides Luiz with a welcome reprieve and an opportunity to regain a regular starting spot in Sarri’s preferred 4-3-3 formation. Rumours of a move for Daniele Rugani continue to gather momentum, but at his age, he’ll need time to adjust to the rigours of Premier League football and an experienced defender able to play the ball out from the back is exactly what Sarri needs to succeed in west London.
He still has his moments of madness - he was booked for a reckless challenge in the pre-season friendly win over Perth Glory - but given Sarri’s attention to detail, Luiz could prove a key man under the Italian. The Italian’s possession based approach - Napoli had more possession (60.3%) than any other Serie A team last term - means a ball playing defender is essential, which explains the interest in Rugani. Getting summer signing Jorginho on the ball as frequently as possible saw Napoli become Juventus’ biggest title rivals in Italy’s top tier and doing so at Chelsea will be crucial in their bid to return to the Premier League’s summit.
With Luiz fighting fit following his return to action, he could prove to be the defensive lynchpin in Sarri’s ideal Chelsea XI. When it seemed his time at Stamford Bridge was coming to an end, Sarri’s appointment has provided Luiz a fresh start in the capital.
