It threatened to be a deadline day in name but not in nature, having largely lacked the desperate last-gasp swoops that produce the most weird and wonderful transfer stories. However, Chelsea have ensured the maintenance of this fine and absurd tradition with the signing of Brazilian defender David Luiz from Paris Saint-Germain. Yep, that’s the same player that they sold to the French giants a couple of years ago, for a whopping world-record transfer fee for a defender. It really is silly season.
David Luiz making shock return to Chelsea
The Brazilian is returning to Stamford Bridge after a couple of years away.
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Chelsea has announced an agreement with PSG, subject to agreement on personal terms and a medical. Given that they’ve bothered to announce the fee, they’re confident of wrapping up the other two bits.
The fee Chelsea are paying to bring Luiz back to Stamford Bridge is a fairly hefty £34 million, and his signature follows hot on the heels of another deadline day arrival — namely that of former Fiorentina fullback Marcos Alonso. If you thought Chelsea signing Alonso — formerly of Bolton and Sunderland — was strange, it’s nothing on Luiz’s signing.
To be sure, Luiz is certainly not a bad player. Admittedly, his defensive style is at best “proactive,” and at worst, “headless chicken,” but the humiliating 7-1 spanking Brazil suffered against Germany on home turf in the 2014 World Cup probably still clouds popular judgement a little more than is fair. This is, after all, he is a player with an honours list most would murder for. He also adds versatility and technical ability to the Chelsea defence — something coach Antonio Conte knows all about, having often worked with the finest ball-playing defender in world football today, Leonardo Bonucci.
But the fact is that Luiz is now 29, and probably isn’t ever going to be a world class defender. He’s an excellent utility man, but no more than that. He could well come in handy in managing the transition to the post-John Terry era (assuming Terry will, one day, retire), but in the meantime, this signing will leave many scratching their heads in bewilderment.
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