Depends how one sees a luxury player. Traditionally one that doesn't work hard, but has great skill and ability. Dele is not that.
To me just as importantly in terms of "luxury players", though far from the traditional use of the word. The players that work hard offer so very little in terms of quality involvements on the ball to help buildup play, counter attacking or playing through pressure.
Take the second Chelsea goal. Lo Celso lost the ball trying to start a counter attack. Just clearing the ball would be easy, literally any PL player should be able to boot it out for a throw. But the more players do that, or play the safe backwards pass, the more responsibility is put on others to take those risks to make positive moves happen. The more risky moves will they have to try because others will only play it safe.
Or when our centre backs move the ball with no pace, no purpose, when our buildup play stinks. No risk, but also no progress and almost certainly no positive moves getting started.
There's a "luxury" in playing like that. Kane will sort it out. Son will find a way to get in behind. Moura will run past four players. Ndombele will do a spin and a twist and find the pass through the lines. Just do your job, don't risk losing it, work hard. But too many players do that, be luxury players in that way and we end up a stale, scoring one goal from open play in five games, low xG, bound to start dropping unnecessary points kind of team.
This might be controversial, but I'm looking at a lot of our players as luxury players in that regard. Alli is perhaps one, but for me he's one that has had to reign in his risk taking in deep areas to be able to play that role so let's give him a couple of months to adjust. Dier, Sanchez though. Some excuses because of age and less experience, but Tanganga, Skipp, Emerson. At times even Hojbjerg, though he's better than most. Reguilon usually tries at least.
Pochettino used to say we have to be brave, in possession, with the ball. Risk losing it to make something happen. Not being brave in that way is being a luxury player. Because you just leave it to others to do what you could have done and make their jobs harder in the process. Different way, but the same effect as a traditional luxury player not tracking back. Leave others to do the job you won't even try to do and make their job harder.
