Merson: Chelsea need new defender to help Luiz

David Luiz may have enjoyed a memorable comeback season at Chelsea but pundit Paul Merson believes the Premier League champions need to splash the cash on a new centre-back.

Luiz became a comical figure during his first stint at the Blues, with defensive errors costing the team heavily on a regular basis.

Ex-Manchester United captain Gary Neville famously referred to him as a “PlayStation player” due to his tendency to burst forwards at will, but Luiz has dispelled that unwanted tag with a mature season at the heart of Chelsea’s title-winning campaign after rejoining last summer from PSG.

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But Merson was unimpressed with Luiz’s display in the FA Cup final, where Chelsea were beaten by Arsenal last month, and expects manager Antonie Conte to take action.

“I think Conte needs to bring in another defender,” Merson said. “I know everybody goes on about how good David Luiz has been but he got found out again in the FA Cup final.

“He had no awareness of the danger for the Aaron Ramsey goal.

“They looked tired in the cup final so they definitely need some more numbers in there to be able to balance Champions League and defending the Premier League title, especially with everybody out to beat the champions.”