David Luiz
When Chelsea signed Luiz, the defender was considered one of the most gifted young centre backs in Europe having been successful during his time at Portuguese club Benfica. The Brazilian defender can certainly do many brilliant things, including scoring scintillating free-kicks and making incredible long-range passes that Paul Scholes would be proud of. However, during his time in the Premier League, some flaws in his defensive game have been exposed and have cost Chelsea at vital times. Luiz likes to get forward and has a tendency to run with the ball or pass the ball out from the back. This can be a risky ploy and sometimes when Luiz has got forward, he has left the rest of his defenders exposed because he is so far up the pitch.
Jose Mourinho likes to have reliable defenders in his ranks and reports suggest that at the moment he doesn’t rate Luiz as a defender and is willing to let the Brazilian leave the club this summer. There are many potential suitors for Luiz if he does become available and amongst the front runners are French Champions Paris St Germain. The French club are building up to become one of Europe’s best teams but new manager Laurent Blanc believes the clubs defence needs strengthening in order for them to regularly reach the latter stages of the Champions League. Blanc has identified Luiz as a target for PSG this summer and thinks that he can become a better defender by partnering him with international team mate Thiago Silva. PSG are thought to be willing to pay £30 million for the defender but reports suggest that Chelsea are hoping the French club will go higher and pay £35 million for Luiz. Barcelona are also monitoring the situation involving Luiz and have identified the Brazilian as one of many possible defensive targets this summer.
Their is no doubt that Luiz is very good on the ball and that is minimum requirement for any Barcelona player. Most Barcelona attacks are started by the centre backs playing the ball out of defence, which is one of Luiz’s main strengths. Tito Vilanova will think that Luiz will get better with age and will learn from defensive partner Gerard Pique. Barcelona are thought to be plotting a £30 million move for Luiz but it is unknown whether they would be willing to go as high as £35 million for the central defender. Their is no doubt that Luiz has talent and with time should become an excellent defender but it seems that Jose Mourinho isn’t willing to wait to find out and if Chelsea are offered a big enough transfer fee for Luiz, they will more than likely except it and use the money on their own targets.