Lukas Piazon came to Chelsea at the age of 17 years old in the winter window of 2012, just before the club won the Champions League. Based on his playing style people labeled him as the new Kaka, unfortunately he never got near that expectation after a 9 years spell as a Chelsea player. In the 2021 summer he was released by Chelsea at the end of his contract. Here are some reasons why Lucas Piazon failed at Chelsea and what really happened in his career in european football.
Lucas Piazon came from Brazil as a potential player, brought by Chelsea for the future of the club, so it makes sense if Chelsea loan him to get more playing time in the top european league. He traveled to Germany, Holland, followed by two season spells in Championship with Fulham. His performance in the loan period showed that he is a good player. However, not good enough to play regularly with. Chelsea at that time was the club which Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, Lukaku also failed to make a good impression. Unlike Salah, De Brunyne and Lukaku which were sold not long after failing to get their place in the first team, Piazon still was loaned from time to time. While he got playing time from the Chelsea loan policy, he struggled to develop great performance due to the need to travel and adapt with the new environment.
The biggest problem that disturbs the career of the player once called “new Kaka” is a mixture of bad luck and poor timing. It will be lost to history that Chelsea was attempting a significant rebuild in the 2011/2012 season. Most know of Andre Villas-Boas attempts to replace the old Chelsea generation. However, he failed to finish the project and let the players go to the uncomfortable moment. Some recognized players from the Villas-Boas project include Piazon, Thibaut Courtois, Oriol Romeu, Romelu Lukaku, Kenneth Omeruo, Patrick Bamford, Kevin De Bruyne, and Marko Marin. They were signed before Chelsea won the Champions League. After the Champions League triumph, the plan has changed, including the fate of the once most prolific players.
Despite his failed spell in the Chelsea first team, Piazon had a great spell in the British game with Fulham. His two years at Fulham have been enough to make Piazon a fan favourite. He has contributed with 12 goals and 9 assists in 57 appearances for the club despite having serious injury on his ankle and required surgery. His last season with Fulham is a huge success, he makes the club get promoted to the Premier League. The odd came when Piazon did not get a permanent contract from Fulham after such an impressive season that gave a way for the club to go back in the top flight. The price tag that Chelsea put on him when negotiating with Fulham representatives presumably became the main reason. His footballing career has been going downhill from this period.
When Sarri became Chelsea Manager, he intended to keep Piazon in the team. However, it is still unclear Sarri reason to keep him around for the first half of his season without planning to give chance to Piazon to prove himself. Sort after that Piazon was loaned out to Serie A which he had struggled to feature. It is a shame Piazon tenure in Chelsea must have gone terrible. Had Piazon joined at a different time where the youth had a better chance of playing, he might have been a superstar.
Most recently, the Brazilian has tried to rebuild himself in Portugal. His loan to Rio Ave was cancelled only to facilitate his transfer to Braga. At 26, the player once known as the “new Kaka” has found himself a home outside of Chelsea.