As far as the transfer windows are concerned, panic buys and deadline days go hand in hand. With the clock imperiously ticking down the moments towards the end of the window, clubs go overboard with emergency last minute deals which sometimes border on the desperate. While we will go into the machinations of a transfer some other time, let us look into David Luiz’s £34m transfer to Chelsea which has the essence of being a panic buy written all over it.
Chelsea’s repeated failures in landing a suitable centre-back have been well documented this summer. After Antonio Conte was announced as the Blues boss, it was expected he would be attempting to prise away one of Bonucci or Chiellini owning to his unbelievable successful working partnership with them. But as time went by it was apparent Chelsea would find no such luck on that front. What the Stamford Bridge chiefs were not expecting was the ensuing difficulty they were about to be greeted with.
The deal for Kalidou Koulibaly was apparently close to being sealed throughout the summer but eventually it did not materialise for some inexplicable reasons. Same was the case for the likes of Romagnoli and Stefan De Vrij. And with the deadline day approaching and all their defensive targets being rendered out of bounds, Chelsea in a shocking move fell back upon an ex-Blue in the form of David Luiz. It is apparently a deal which has gone down well with PSG after the French champions were getting frustrated with Luiz’s erratic defending which was growing manifold and it is feared the player will bring a share of his hot-headed approach back to England.
David Luiz reportedly agitated for a move after coming to know that the London club was interested in re-signing him as the Brazilian had become disillusioned at the gradually decreasing number of opportunities after he was relegated to being the third choice behind Marquinhos and Thiago Silva.
The dynamics behind the deal are not clearly known but the contrasting styles demanded by the manager to what the Brazilian offers has put the pundits into the guessing the mechanisms behind the deal. With John Terry nearing retirement, a new defender with leadership qualities was required to be moulded to be able to step into the large boots of the former England defender. But Luiz’s playing style does not indicate a calm and assuring presence usually associated with a leader. It is understood Conte was frustrated with the rejections he faced in the difficult Italian market and a severe lack of options forced their hand into going ahead with this deal.
While Chelsea would have wanted to sign someone who would immediately tick all the boxes they were looking for, it is likely that Conte will have to work hard on the training ground to bring Luiz into the fold at the new-look Chelsea.
