Despite spending more than six years on Chelsea’s books, Lucas Piazon has never really been afforded a first-team chance at Stamford Bridge, with the 24-year-old repeatedly sent out on loan to further his development.
After impressing with Sao Paulo as a teenager, Chelsea paid £6.75m to bring Piazon to English football in January 2012 but he had to wait until the following season to make his debut for the Blues, making three appearances in the first half of the 2012/13 season.
However, he was unable to make a lasting impression and was sent to Malaga on loan for the rest of the season in what would prove to be the first of many temporary departures from Stamford Bridge for the former Brazil U23 international.
Over the last five years, Piazon has also had spells with Vitesse, Eintracht Frankfurt, Reading and now Fulham where he has spent the last two seasons and is finally starting to find form, bagging three goals and three assists in 12 appearances since the turn of the year.
Speaking to ESPN Brasil’s João Castelo Branco this week, Piazon talks in detail about the gruesome leg break he suffered earlier in the season and how he has fought back into the reckoning at Craven Cottage.
For me, it started kind of bad. Right in the third game, I got injured. I had started the season well, had two games and two goals. Then I had torn ankle ligaments, and broke the little bone of the fibula. And then I ended up being four months and a little more out. I had an operation. And then I started treatment at Chelsea and finished at Fulham.
When you are hurt you think ‘the season is almost over, I’m not going to play so many games this year’, but I ended up coming back, coming back fast, coming back well, on Boxing Day I was already playing, it was my first game back, and I started to play more minutes. I started starting games, and I have been playing all the games. And the team are good too, we are fighting again there for promotion for the second year. And this is it, we have been fifteen games unbeaten and with chances to go up directly. So let’s fight until the end.
Now 24, Piazon signed a new three-year with Chelsea back in July but the time for a definitive decision to be made on his future is edging closer, but Piazon says he’s unsure about whether he features in Chelsea’s long-term plans, hinting that he could complete a transfer away from Chelsea and stay with Fulham.
To speak of next season, I think it’s still a little early. We are in the middle of March, there is still much to happen. Usually what happens is that I end up going back to Chelsea, in July I’ll present myself there, and then we’ll see. We see what is best, as I have been doing for the last few years. I think that’s the way it’s better, you have more time to figure it out, look for a nice place to go.
I don’t know, maybe I stay here at Fulham. I’m already here for the second year on loan. Anything can happen, actually. I have a contract with Chelsea for two more seasons, I renewed at the start of the season for three more, so at the end of this season I still have two more. So let’s see, let’s see.
