Do Chelsea Risk Losing Luiz?

When it comes to David Luiz, he could be the Marmite of centre backs – love him or loathe him, but whilst it might have been the in thing to take pot shots at him after Gary Neville’s ‘Playstation’ comments, in the wake of his stand-out performance in the Confederations Cup, the curly-haired one is hot property.

Some of us won’t be surprised by the amount of attention he’s suddenly receiving though because aside from the odd court jester moment, we’ve seen all along there’s a seriously good player underneath. He’s even been talked of as a potential future Chelsea captain – and given the loyalty Chelsea supporters have always had for John Terry, that in itself speaks volumes. Although those punting on football might favour betting on him leaving the Bridge but the club didn’t shell out £21 million on a defender without good cause.

Whilst he doesn’t always look as if he takes everything too seriously and there’s a casualness about him at times that needs a good shaking, his ability to take a free kick is without question and his execution of the long ball, borders on perfection. The man has great vision and passion in abundance, he clearly loves what he does but can he actually defend? Ask Pedro.

So with all this attention, will we lose him? Well, it’s a risk but would Chelsea really let such a valuable asset go? Or more to the point, would Jose Mourinho give Pep Guardiola the satisfaction of getting his man? I actually think its unlikely we’ll see Luiz go walkabout this summer. What I do see as a bigger risk though, is the potential for frustration given Jose will undoubtedly look to tame the Brazilian defender’s wanderlust on the pitch.

Yes, Jose may have transformed Carvalho into one of the most consistent defenders Chelsea have ever had in their back line but there’s something about David’s character that makes him the player he is. Attempts to tame that could detract from his game, or at the very least create frustration – and therein lies the risk of losing our Loveable Luiz.