Former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson has said that Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was correct by choosing to sell David Luiz to Arsenal. The Brazilian moved across London in a surprise deal which will no doubt leave a bitter taste in the months of many Chelsea fans. Arsenal fans may view it as a bit of revenge for when the Blues snapped up Ashley Cole from them during the summer of 2006.
“I think Frank has made a massive statement here,” Thompson said as quoted by The Express.
“I think he’s made the right judgement doing what he’s done.
“It’s a big call for such a young manager.
“But I think he’s seen him in there, possibly being disruptive, and ‘I can’t have this and I need to do this straight away’.
“And when that chance has come, and what happened with Arsenal very late on, I think he’s seen this as a fantastic opportunity.”
Luiz’s departure will give a hole in the Blues
Luiz was a first-team regular under Maurizio Sarri last season as he went on to play 50 games in all competitions whilst helping the club to a top four finish and the Europa League. He was arguably one of the club’s best players apart from Eden Hazard.
The loss of Luiz means that there is no experienced player in the Blues first-team to provide competition to Kurt Zouma and Andres Christensen. Both Christensen and Zouma played during the Blues opening Premier League game of the 2019/20 season which ended in a 4-0 mauling at the hands of Manchester United.
Some would have felt that Lampard should not have sold Luiz especially as he could not bring in a direct replacement.
Lampard was correct to sell the player
It is better to not have a player in the squad who wants to leave, hence Lampard was correct to sell Luiz even though he probably could have continued to add value to the side this season. The Blues will not be expected to win any major silverware this season and judging by their shambolic display against United on Sunday, it is unlikely that they will be much of a threat to any of the big guns in the English top-flight this season.
For Lampard, this season will be more about identifying good young talent as well as building for the future.
