David Luiz

[The Skipper 20,593]

Disagree with the last bit.

We already have that player in Matic and like you said, Nathaniel could perhaps cover for Matic. What we need is a B2B player who is technically better than Ramires. Ramires has the stamina and the determination, but his technique is lacking.

I personally don't think the team work well with another DLP, or a slow player because of how deep our defense sits. Gary is pretty bad going forward in possession and so is Terry. So, that's help our midfield will never get, therefore in this setup we will need specialized midfielders to do that job and link defense and attack and do that quickly. That has been one of the problems this season, and one of the reasons Jose played Luiz in midfield so much against the top sides and fairly successfully based on results.

We definitely need a playmaker next to Matic - I wouldn't consider Matic as one. He's got a good pass on him and good vision but that has more to do with him being quite a complete midfielder. He is first and foremost a holding player that protects the back four.

We need someone that can spread play and truly dictate the tempo of our transition next to him - having Matic do everything is too much of an overkill. Someone in the ilk of Modric (i.e. A Rakitic or Kovacic) with a bit more finesse in the final third would infinitely help our slow build up play from the back, and the link between defence and midfield and attack will definitely improve. We don't have that sort of player in midfield hence why we play our next best option, Luiz, there.

[Fernando 6,375]

Bender, a defensive holding midfielder, is partnering Gundogan, a deep lying playmaker.

Alonso, a defensive holding midfielder, is partnering Modric, a deep lying playmaker.

We have a better defense than both clubs as well.

Pardon my lack of knowledge, but not sure if this has been mentioned before.

Can Oscar play next to Matic as a DLP?

[iseah100 5,612]

I'll be very sad/upset if Luiz leaves. He's a very important part of that locker room, these players are not robots, they need players who keep things fun. And let's not act like Luiz is a bad player, he is a big game performer and helped us win the CL. He'll start for Brazil in the WC and he can play CB or CDM. If we sell we will regret it for a while.

If he wants to leave, then we should let him. If not he needs to stay.

[robsblubot 3,217]

Bender, a defensive holding midfielder, is partnering Gundogan, a deep lying playmaker.

Alonso, a defensive holding midfielder, is partnering Modric, a deep lying playmaker.

We have a better defense than both clubs as well.

hmm I was actually referring to Gundogan as a B2B as in mobile player. A player who will not just sit and pass the football sideways, but actuall press high and join the attack whenever needed. Having a few goals on him as well.

[Henrique 9,133]

All over the news and around the web, usually it is this much noise it is close to being done, will be announced after WC sources said.

And just a suggestion, also Chalobah hasn't really proved it at highest level yet. At Npower league he was OK, not even named any where near player of the season so he cannot be that extremely impressive yet. I don't think Jose will trust him atm, maybe in a couple of years.

I wonder why we dont have Falcao or Huk in our squad at this point.

[The Mak 4,459]

@,@The Skipper,

Thank you both. If anyone knows me, they'll know how much I've been harping on about a DLP and you've both said every reason why we need at least one (Madrid have Modric & Alonso, that is just greedy).

All in all, having Luiz as a DM because he has legs and has the best distribution in the team (which is not even good imo) shows the sad state of affairs that is our pivot. It seriously needs addressing. Acquiring players ala Paulinho will improve nothing and only add more 'dead weight' to be rid of in a few seasons. The apparent £30m+ for a 3rd choice CB would do nicely in finding a suitable partner for Matic (i.e. Rakitic).

[didierforever 7,349]

You do know he has suffered a knee injury, correct?

he has about 15 starts all season.is it just cos of the injury? he was on the bench for valencia's in all the 4 EL matches that i have seen (against basel and sevilla). he barely got a couple of starts in the start of the season and as soon as he got 5/6 starts consecutively, he got injured, which has been his norm for us too. he is injury prone, he is not starter material specially alongside matic when we need a B2B or a DLP.

i would rather have mvg and chalobah as our back up CMs with rambo/matic/new CM as the regular starters.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Yeah because you would rather see Chalobah who is homegrown academy player over Pogba who is capble of banging them in from 30 yards. I suppose if next season we challenge and win nothing again but with Chalobah...etc in the team you will be happy too? Pogba is not exactly old, he is just extremely better than Chalobah atm and if we can afford it, why not?

[bababoom 4,478]

So did someone actually say Oscar may want to leave if we sell Luiz? Their friends big deal, he has a family and is settled in London... if he does want to leave than i say it's for the better, we cannot afford to have someone with that mentality. It's also not like we cant replace Oscar, he's not a Hazard, he's replaceable.

[The only place to be 11,313]

A box to box midfielder partnering Matic wouldn't work imo, especially in the system Jose is running. In a system where the source of our transition lies within the central midfield duo, it is crucial to have a holding midfielder with defensive attributes, IE Matic, and most of all, having a player with distribution instincts, (Finding space, working well under pressure, movement off the ball, retrieving the ball and picking the right pass to control the momentum).

See, I know there's a lot of people who might want us to get a pure passing Deep-Lying Playmaker in midfield, but does Jose? I've not really seen us linked to any and when you look at players like Matic, Loftus-Cheek and Chalobah, these are almost hybrids capable of recovering the ball but also striding out of defence with it and picking a pass. Look at how much he values that blend of athleticism and finesse in Oscar and Willian, and delegates Hazard as the most creative outlet.

I'm not entirely convinced his desire for that type of DLP is a great as some here might.

[Nike 373]

So did someone actually say Oscar may want to leave if we sell Luiz? Their friends big deal, he has a family and is settled in London... if he does want to leave than i say it's for the better, we cannot afford to have someone with that mentality. It's also not like we cant replace Oscar, he's not a Hazard, he's replaceable.

When Ronaldinho left Barcelona, messi was 5 seconds away from leaving Barcelona.

Oscar is replaceable as is Hazard.

[iseah100 5,612]

When Ronaldinho left Barcelona, messi was 5 seconds away from leaving Barcelona.

Oscar is replaceable as is Hazard.

Except for Hazard is irreplaceable.

[Nike 373]

Except for Hazard is irreplaceable.

Except for we beat PSG without hazard and Liverpool during their unbeaten run....

[bushman 2,043]

So did someone actually say Oscar may want to leave if we sell Luiz? Their friends big deal, he has a family and is settled in London... if he does want to leave than i say it's for the better, we cannot afford to have someone with that mentality. It's also not like we cant replace Oscar, he's not a Hazard, he's replaceable.

I believe, you are correct to question Oscar´s mental toughness. All I have seen since the January phlegmatic play with him.

If he cannot hack it in the PL, play for the club that pays his great wages, then see you later alligator.

[The Chels 2,502]

See, I know there's a lot of people who might want us to get a pure passing Deep-Lying Playmaker in midfield, but does Jose? I've not really seen us linked to any and when you look at players like Matic, Loftus-Cheek and Chalobah, these are almost hybrids capable of recovering the ball but also striding out of defence with it and picking a pass. Look at how much he values that blend of athleticism and finesse in Oscar and Willian, and delegates Hazard as the most creative outlet.

I'm not entirely convinced his desire for that type of DLP is a great as some here might.

Exactly. For the many thinking that it's going to be a simple case of Luiz and Ramires out & Rakitic/Kroos (or whoever) in, they have another think coming.

Except for we beat PSG without hazard and Liverpool during their unbeaten run....

And we also beat Man City, PSG, Liverpool, etc. without a great striker so that means we don't need one? Hazard is as close to irreplaceable as you will get in our squad.

[Nike 373]

Exactly. For the many thinking that it's going to be a simple case of Luiz and Ramires out & Rakitic/Kroos (or whoever) in, they have another think coming.

And we also beat Man City, PSG, Liverpool, etc. without a great striker so that means we don't need one? Hazard is as close to irreplaceable as you will get in our squad.

And yet Mata was so called irreplaceable as well last season.....

[The Chels 2,502]

And yet Mata was so called irreplaceable as well last season.....

Well the manager and system changed so he became dispensable, but that isn't going to happen this time. The truth is that there isn't realistically a player we can buy to replace the importance and qualities of Hazard in this set-up.

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

Just one of those that sometime it gone in, sometime doesn't. Pogba scored quite a few these past seasons but my point is atm Pogba is a better player, much better so we should be looking at someone like him.