The cameras showed Kenedy and David Luiz sitting next to each other while Chelsea faced Manchester United. Later, a wider shot revealed Charly Musonda next to Luiz. It was hard not to think that this was a glimpse at Chelsea’s January transfer window.
Antonio Conte’s comments immediately after Chelsea’s win over Manchester United sprayed propane on speculation about David Luiz’s future with the club. Conte did not include Luiz in the squad, and following the game he made it sound like Luiz was trying to find a way back in at Stamford Bridge.
In the press conference, though, Conte repeatedly clarified that his decision to drop Luiz was purely tactical and based only on recent performance.
"It’s very simple. The coach has to make the best decision for the team, and tonight the decision for the team was to play with Christensen and on the bench to have Ampadu, another good player. Players for the present and the future.I must take the best decision for the club, not a single player. Sometimes I can make mistakes and sometimes I can do the best things for my team."
As the reporter pressed Conte on David Luiz’s future, Conte could not resist a jab at the media’s love of speculating about his own.
"You’re talking about the future. But everyday you put my future… from now to the end, every game, every day, someone puts my future in question."
Antonio Conte would never say anything more than what he said. He is not Jose Mourinho. He will not burn a player to justify his decisions, nor make a public example of someone to prove a point in the locker room. Conte maintains a firm barrier between the media room and the locker room.
That said, it is difficult to think that recent performance and a tactical decision are the only factors afoot. Many Chelsea players – including stalwarts like Cesar Azpilicueta and N’Golo Kante before his injury – have turned in subpar performances for stretches of this season. For Luiz to be left out of a game that would normally be all hands on deck for the senior players – while Ethan Ampadu makes the squad – speaks to a broader concern.
Luiz’s performance in recent games, particularly against AS Roma, has been unbecoming of Chelsea FC and a Premier League and Champions League contender. He was willfully out of position throughout the match at Roma. He has shown even less regard for the demands and discipline of playing in a back-three than he did before. And whereas last season he was able to chase back and use his athleticism to cover his own mistakes before too much damage was done, this season he is directly costing Chelsea.
Antonio Conte can understand and accept dips in form. He was a player and all players have those spells. But he neither accepts nor tolerates indiscipline and the sort of mental shutting off that Luiz evinces. This could be the kernel of truth in the rumours last week of a disagreement or dissension between Luiz and Conte.
The trio of Luiz, Kenedy and Charly Musonda sitting in a row on the bench produced undesirable optics for Luiz’s religiously persistent band of supporters. The latter two players are on thin ice for their social media exploits, and their minimal playing time this season makes them candidates for a January loan.
Kenedy and Musonda at least have the advantages of youth and Chelsea’s need for depth at their respective positions. Luiz is not a player of the future, and he is showing more and more that he is past the age of learning new tricks. The Blues are also well off at centre-back and defence as a whole.
Next: Chelsea are two different teams with and without N'Golo Kante
Antonio Conte refused to make any statements beyond the Manchester United match about David Luiz. But the entire Chelsea world will be watching the lineup sheets (and training photos) very carefully for the next few games. If Luiz’s only appearance in the squad in November comes against Qarabag, we will know that “tactical decision” is a euphemism for “on the market.”