Why David Luiz must leave Chelsea this winter

Back in October, David Luiz was axed by Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, after the 30-year-old Brazilian international criticized his tactics in the 3-0 loss to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. The cracks had begun to show in the first leg, as the Italian outfit came back from two goals down to draw the game 3-3.

The Italian is known for alienating a number of key players in his time at Stamford Bridge. The likes of Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic were let go by Chelsea after falling out with the manager and the club is suffering as a result of these departures. Despite winning the league in brilliant fashion last term, Chelsea have found themselves going down a level, as they have struggled to keep up the with the pace Manchester City have set at the top of the table.

The case of David Luiz' downfall has been baffling and the player must be thinking of leaving Stamford Bridge this transfer window, if he is to get his career back on track. The defender made his first start in 13 games in the FA Cup third round clash away at Norwich City and to say the least, he didn’t cover himself in glory. Time and time again, he was caught out by the opposition attackers and showed signs of rustiness from his long stint on the sidelines.

There seems to be no way back for Luiz under his manager as his replacement in the team, Andreas Christensen, has impressed ever since getting his chance to make the central defence spot his own.

Last season, Luiz played as the middle man of the three-at-the-back system that Conte favoured. His calmness in possession and ability to play the ball out from the back was a skill only he had at the club. The likes of Gary Cahill, Azpilicueta, John Terry, Kurt Zouma and Nathan Ake are all good defenders in their rights, but Luiz' build-up play couldn't be matched by any of them.

He performed outstandingly in that role, helping Chelsea win the league, courtesy of a 13-match winning streak, that ensured they won the league with a record 30 wins and 93 points, the highest points tally in the last 12 years.

This season, Andreas Christensen has usurped Luiz in the pecking order, and the 21-year-old has done enough to keep himself in the starting eleven. He has proven to be a player with maturity that belies his age. The player had gone out on loan to the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach for two years and has developed into a quality centreback that can hold his own against any striker in the Premier League.

Luiz, it has to be said, suffered a knee injury in the last 3 months and has only recently returned to full fitness, yet he has not been able to work his way back into the starting 11.

In Chelsea's last game, against Leicester, Gary Cahill had to be substituted with a hamstring complaint. It was quite telling that Christensen was the man called upon to enter the game, while the cameras focused on Luiz, who looked beleaguered with that decision.

Luiz is a popular member of the Chelsea dressing room and his treatment by Conte is likely to cause a rift between some of the players and their manager, who has been tipped to leave Chelsea this summer. as he is growing disillusioned with life at the club as there are a number of disagreements on transfer targets.

A player like Luiz should be playing at this stage of his career and is still a world-class player that will be wanted by a number of clubs in world football.