When Chelsea re-signed David Luiz from Paris Saint-Germain for £30million on transfer deadline day in August, many labelled it a panic buy after Antonio Conte failed to land his initial transfer targets earlier in the window.
And following disappointing performances in the back-to-back defeat’s to Liverpool and Arsenal respectively, the acquisition of Luiz was questioned even more.
Suggestions that he would not play when John Terry and Kurt Zouma were available, and that he was a liability in Chelsea’s defence, seemed valid points to make at the time.
Furthermore, after Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Liverpool, their first defeat of the season, Sky Sports pundits Graeme Souness and Jamie Carragher criticised Luiz heavily.
Both agreed that the Brazilian would not make the first team when Chelsea’s other defenders were fully fit, while Carragher argued he is not the type of player Conte likes to have in his squad.
Luiz then started in the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal, after which nearly every Chelsea player received heavy criticism and rightly so.
However October saw Conte change his style to a 3-4-3 formation, which subsequently saw fans and pundits alike see a change in Luiz.
The Brazilian started in all four league victories against Hull, Leicester, Manchester United and Southampton last month, helping Chelsea keep a clean sheet in each match.
The real question asked by many following the 29-year-old’s return to Stamford Bridge was: has he matured from the player who made rash and reckless decision’s during his first stint with the club?
And given what we’ve seen from him so far, especially in the last month, the answer to that question is yes.
Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp, who seemed to be in a minority that initially backed Luiz’s return to Chelsea, recently hailed the defender as “the real deal” under Conte and believes he is scarily good to watch.
Writing in his column for the Sky Sports website, Redknapp said:
There is a hunger about this Chelsea team. The manager has brought that in and the players are buying into it. Luiz looks – I’m scared to say it – like a serious defender.
You’ve got him buying into is as well, and that was a problem for Chelsea for many years. But when he’s like that, he looks the real deal.
And Redknapp is not alone in those thoughts. During Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Southampton, co-commentator Gary Neville praised Conte for installing a “clean sheet mentality” into the Chelsea side, something that had been seriously lacking last season.
The Blues kept just nine clean sheets in the league last season, but are on course to eclipse that total this time around, having kept five already.
And much of that success at the back is down to Luiz and Conte’s change of system, which Neville recognised during the victory at St. Mary’s.
This Chelsea team have not made a mistake today, they’ve not put a foot wrong. The concentration and focus is there but the clean sheet mentality is the big thing for me, and it’s there right through the team these past few weeks.
Even Luiz is kicking in into the stand when two years ago he might have done a Cruyff turn and tried to beat the attacker.
The 29-year-old’s distribution and decision making has been sensational at times as well. As Neville rightly says, long gone is the Luiz who would attempt a trick or turn and play Chelsea into trouble.
The defender has bought into Conte’s style of play and matured into a player who recognises the importance of keeping a clean sheet and working for the team.
Despite the moments of magic which earned him praise during his first spell with the club, there were also moments of stupidity which overshadowed his potential.
However, the defensive side of his game has improved dramatically since his first stint at Stamford Bridge.
His positioning has been excellent as the central figure in the three-at-the-back system, he communicates with Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta; telling one to drop back when the other pushes forward, and as Neville said, he’ll clear the ball into row Z when he needs to.
His understanding of the role he plays in Conte’s system is one of the crucial factors in the Blues’ success so far under the 3-4-3 formation.
The knowledge that he has eradicated those rash decisions from his game installs confidence in the fans and Chelsea players around him, whom all recognised that no matter how well he was playing during his first tenure with the club, you never knew what was around the corner.
Now, though, there is a realisation that the 29-year-old has grown as a player and matured into a fantastic centre-halve.
