It seems that David Luiz is making it a habit to switch between the Premier League and the Ligue 1. The Chelsea defender is being linked back with a move to the French league but not to Paris Saint Germain, this time it will be AS Monaco. Luiz began his career with Brazilian side Vitoria and made a big name for himself in Portugal with Benfica back in 2007, a successful spell in the Portuguese league then saw Luiz move to English giants Chelsea in 2011. He then gained the reputation as a funny man but showed his ability on the pitch, he was immense and helped Chelsea to the Champions League and the FA Cup in his debut season with the West London outfit.
In 2014, Ligue 1 side Paris Saint Germain made Luiz the most expensive defender of all time buying him for a fee of £50m. Luiz then won all four domestic trophies with PSG in two years at the Parc Des Princes before returning to Stamford Bridge for a fee of £30m on his second coming at Chelsea. He then helped Chelsea to a Premier League title playing a solid part in Antonio Conte’s defensive line. However, Luiz has not had a very fruitful second season so far as Chelsea have succumbed to fifth in the Premier League and their only hope of any trophy is the FA Cup final against Manchester United.
But Luiz has not played for Chelsea ever since mid-October when he injured himself in a Champions League game and criticized his manager’s tactics. The reported fallout between Conte and Luiz hit headlines and the centre-back was dropped from Chelsea’s first team immediately. There was a rumor that Luiz had picked up a slight injury and therefore it was the reason for his expulsion from Chelsea. But as the fixtures continued to pile on for Chelsea, Luiz never made a single appearance for the club despite being fit.
Ever since, Conte has preferred to use Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, and Antonio Rudiger as his usual central defenders which meant that Luiz lost his place in the starting eleven. The 31-year-old has featured just 17 times for Chelsea this season and despite sitting on the bench for the majority of this season, an exit from Stamford Bridge is on the cards for Luiz.
Luiz also celebrated his birthday about a week ago and celebrated with his teammates but Conte did not get an invite. Therefore, much of Luiz likelihood to remain at Chelsea will entirely depend if Conte is at the club next season or not.
There are though, a lot of potential suitors for the frizzy-haired defender with Ligue 1 side AS Monaco tipped to make a move for Luiz. The former PSG defender has the experience of playing in the French league and it will be more of a challenge this time around if he does return to France. Luiz does still have a lot to offer, but seeing him on the bench as a neutral fan is just disappointing.
