Two roads diverged in a yellow wood....

[NishC300 1,865]

€40-60 million is the range that the tabloids have predicted for Barcelona to shell out on our own David Luiz - The Geezer who was responsible for the smiles in our most direst of times - and gone are the days when center-backs can hide behind the gigantic transfer fee's of world-class attackers.

The world of football is such that every tiny little rumor regarding transfers are beaten around the bush while the people in question do not openly come out and say anything resulting in a lot has been made out of this small yet irritating rumor.

Lets reminisce for a second. Chelsea's defense was leaky, so leaky that no amount of duct tape could stop the balls creeping into Cech's net. Rafael Benitez's arrival, *cough* menu please *cough*, strengthened the defense due to simple reasons. He told Luiz to get his act right and quit trying to take risks while helping Cahill out on his reading ability. We all remember the phenomenal game Cahill had against Manchester City in the Premier League.

Luiz's performance did improve, with notable performances in the Europa League and against Manchester United in the FA Cup. The point is that the reason we would want to sell Luiz should never be based on the fact that he makes mistakes at his age. That's equivalent to selling Mata cause he couldn't provide accurate through balls in a few games. Luiz has had his share of good moments as well, though it's a lot more on Mata's side.

Yes he's eccentric and at times over the top with everything he does, but when he has set his mind right, there are hardly any defenders who could be compared to him. Mind you, when we talk about comparing defenders, I'm not just talking about attributes but also of certain values. Luiz is passionate and this stems from his Brazilian roots. Moreover he is passionate about Chelsea, the club, the fans and the jersey. Selling this for anything around 60 million and expecting to get it back is stupid, as the value of such characteristics are priceless.

Chelsea will never be out-muscled when it comes to money, thanks to the Russian rubles. The only way a move could be forced through is if the defender himself forces a move through and I do not really see him as the type of player who would hand in a transfer request.

Now let's for a moment say that we do sell Luiz. Then what? We are obviously expected to go into the market for another world-class center-back. Finding a center-back like that would be a rarity but not impossible. Chelsea would probably use the same amount of money to get somebody else. Luiz is just about to enter his prime and getting someone who is young and in-experienced would be stupid. So that narrows it down to defenders who are experienced, at their peaks and well capable to fit into the squad. I'm sorry, but I wouldn't really appreciate the idea of bringing in a 30 year old at a time when the club is aiming for stability and a future with a solid foundation.

Let's say that Chelsea go for a top center-back. We can form a comparison between arguably the best center-backs in the world(in common opinion) . This includes Luiz who is 26 years of age, Hummels (24) , Subotic (24) , Vidic(31), Silva (28), Ferdinand (34) , Pique (26) and Kompany (27).

As can be seen, only Subotic or Hummels could be seen as realistic transfers from this list. Though we aren't comparing other targets, we can clearly see how Luiz doesn't fare that bad. Keep in mind that Luiz has played more games last season, totaling 47 as compared to that of others who have played 38, 36, 20, 39, 29, 39 and 32 games. His tackles per game were 7th best while interceptions per game were second best. He had committed 1.4 fouls per game last time around, the highest among the rest.

What I'm trying to convey is that, Luiz still has time to become something phenomenal. Carvalho, Drogba, Makelele erupted into world-class players under the guidance of Mourinho. There isn't a better manager at this time to show a young player the right path. Mourinho has reitereated how Luiz is integral to the squad, and there is very little reason why you would disagree with him. Luiz also has been lucky to have two mentors on his side, namely John Terry and Thiago Silva.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and David Luiz took the one less traveled by cause of two senior players blocking the other road, the land more fertile on the road less traveled by and the sun a little brighter without the shade. Think about it.

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Nice article. Did u make these graphs on Excel?

[hjperdeath 2,226]

Nice article. Did u make these graphs on Excel?

Powerpoint, you enter the stats via Excel though.

[NishC300 1,865]

Powerpoint, you enter the stats via Excel though.

Nice. Brilliant idea.