Chelsea: David Luiz’s new contract is a step in the right direction
David Luiz’s new deal shows Chelsea’s commitment to learning from their past mistakes
Nearly a year removed from the last game of the Antonio Conte era at Chelsea, the club’s hierarchy faces another tough decision surrounding the manager and whether or not to back him. While nobody has vocally committed to Maurizio Sarri’s future, the Blues have gifted David Luiz a deal through 2021, bringing back a leader.
This defies the club’s own previous policy of only extending players over 30 for 12 months. Further, this move hints at the club backing Sarri as the Italian’s future at Stamford Bridge becomes more and more clear.
This was a luxury previous managers, such as Antonio Conte, never got. After pushing John Terry out the door in the summer of 2017, the club quickly learned it could not make the same mistake again. With no clear leader, Conte quickly lost his locker room, which led to his sacking one year later. For this reason, Sarri and Chelsea are better off because of Luiz’s extension.
With Gary Cahill leaving Chelsea and Eden Hazard’s future at Chelsea hanging in the balance, Chelsea simply couldn’t afford to lose another veteran leader. While Luiz’s hustle may not be praised as constantly as that of Cesar Azpilicueta or N’Golo Kante, Luiz gives his all for Chelsea week-in and week-out.
It’s difficult to find someone at Chelsea as widely loved and appreciated as Luiz. Whether it’s having the men out to dinner at his restaurant in London, sending messages of support to the women or watching the youth, Luiz is a true Blue. It doesn’t matter the event: if Chelsea is involved, Luiz genuinely supports it.
Luiz’s presence will also play a massive part in the development of the young defenders around the first team next season. With a plethora of young talent such as Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Ola Aina and possibly even Fikayo Tomori looking to make their way into the first team, guidance from Luiz will go a long way. Even Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma could still learn a few things from Luiz.
As far as his on-field product, Luiz’s re-signing should mean little for those young defenders. He’s likely signed on knowing full well what his role should be next season: a cup starter.
With Christensen and Zouma foaming at the mouth at the chance of starting for Chelsea, it’s unlikely Luiz starts the amount of matches he did this season. He’s purely there for leadership and depth. He’s there to start weekend matches at mid-table clubs in order to give Antonio Rudiger and the other defenders a rest after a Champions League match.
His presence likely means someone like Tomori or Jake Clarke-Salter will spend another year or two on loan, which isn’t the worst thing. With Rudiger having all but solidified his spot in central defense, that leaves one open spot for a young defender. Christensen and Zouma look to be Luiz’s replacements. Whoever does not win the job will probably leave Chelsea, which was the case even before Luiz re-signed.
Christensen, Zouma and a few other youngsters are ready to take their place alongside Rudiger in defense. Luiz remaining with the club should not hinder that. Although he’s still got a bit left in the tank – as shown by his performance in the 2-0 win over Manchester City in December – he should not continue to start in vital matches.
counterpoint. David Luiz was the wrong player at the wrong time to break the 'over 30' rule. light
However, this does not mean he is not important to Chelsea. Nothing is going to change for the worse because Luiz is at the club until 2021, unless he somehow works his way into the starting XI again. Instead, he’s going to bring his experience to the Carabao and FA Cups.
The slightest chance Luiz will start again regularly should not be enough to dub this extension a failure. Chelsea’s past mishandling of club legends should not be enough to call the deal terrible.
However, Luiz’s passion for the club, professional experience and talent should speak wonders about what a significant move this was. The 32-year old loves Chelsea FC. Luiz laces up his boots and puts it all on the line for the badge each and every week. He’s a proud supporter, like every fan, but he has the opportunity to teach and inspire young talent at the club.
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Luiz is a leader in a locker room where they are few and far between, making this extension an important move for the club.