Latest reports claim that Barcelona has identified Chelsea’s David Luiz as one of the defenders who can solve their defensive problems at the back. It is believed that the Catalans giants have created a 15 players list of defenders and they are going to try their luck in trying to land them.
Barcelona might be sitting on top of the La Liga table but they have conceded the most amount goals in the league among any of the top five sides, and it’s their attackers who have rescued them in most of the games. Apart from Luiz, the other Premier League defender on Barcelona’s list is Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny even though he is currently recovering from an injury.
David Luiz has been resurrected under Maurizio Sarri as he was almost frozen out last season under Antonio Conte. Conte was more of a believer of having a strong defensive side but Sarri is more offensive in his footballing philosophy, and he prefers to have a defender who can dictate play from the back and pick out a pass or two from the deep areas.
There is definitely some shortcomings in Luiz as a defender, but he has enjoyed a great season so far and has formed a solid partnership with Antonio Rudiger. Barcelona could be tough to ignore for the Brazilian defender, but we believe Chelsea aren’t going to sell him as other defenders like Gary Cahill and Andreas Christensen are both looking for a way out of the club.
The Brazilian centre-back has his critics as he is often known to be too casual in his approach and there have been occasions when he has been behind some significant errors which have led to goals. But it is clear that Sarri is willing to prefer him over other options because of his ball playing abilities, and one can understand why a club like Barcelona are interested in him, as he would suit their style. His defensive side of the game wouldn’t be tested much as the Blaugrana would be expected to dominate most of their games.
The defender is already 31, and if the Spanish giants come up with a big offer, Chelsea should certainly consider selling him; more so because he is already in the final year of his contract. This is not the first time that the Blues would be selling him as they sold the centre back to PSG not so long ago for big money and resigned him back for a much lesser amount.
It would be interesting to see how keen Barcelona would be able to land this defender but Sarri is likely to keep hold of him until and unless the money blows the Blues away. Our opinion? Sell him if the offer is around or upwards the £30m mark.
