Chelsea have confirmed the re-signing of their former star defender David Luiz from PSG in a deal reportedly worth £38 million.
Having failed in their pursuit of defensive targets like Marcelo Brozovic, Kalidou Koulibaly and Leonardo Bonucci, Chelsea have turned their sights to one of their own to deliver the goods for the 2016-17 campaign. David Luiz, who donned the Blue jersey through his time at Stamford Bridge from 2011 to 2014, is set to return to the club in a deal worth £38 million.
The Brazilian centre-back left the club in 2014 for PSG in a £50 million deal that made him the most expensive defensive transfer ever. A medical has been lined up for the 29-year-old at 6PM BST ahead of his official unveiling. In his three year stay at Chelsea, Luiz featured in 142 games, scoring 12 goals and 10 assists in the process, while also helping the Blues to an FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League success.
The potential signing of Luiz comes only hours after Chelsea announced the signing of Marcos Alonso from Fiorentina. Their investment in defence is understandable considering the disastrous title defence the Blues put out in 2015-16 with an aging back-line of John Terry and Gary Cahill. The arrival of the flamboyant Brazilian is a good piece of business by Antonio Conte who will seek to stabilize his defence even further as he sets out to lay the foundation on this Chelsea line-up.
Part of the reason that had Chelsea complete such a swift move for Luiz over the past couple of days was the possible suggestion that Unai Emery preferred Marquinhos in centre-back over the 29-year-old based on his review of the side’s performance in the early stages of their 2016-17 campaign.
As flamboyant and defensively adept David Luiz can be, the Brazilian is equally capable of suicidal errors that can often leave his team vulnerable to counter-attacks and threats from the opposition, as evidenced by his performance during Brazil’s 7-1 humbling at the hands of Germany in the 2014 World Cup. Whether he is a more responsible defender having spent two years of his time in Ligue 1 is there to be seen. That said, Chelsea fans for sure will be happy to have their eccentric and fun-loving Brazilian back in the scheme of things at Stamford Bridge.
