LONDON, July 30 -- Chelsea's Brazilian defender David Luiz insists the arrival of Maurizio Sarri as first team coach has given him a new lease on life at the club.
The 31-year-old, who is in his second spell at Stamford Bridge, made just 10 league appearances under former coach Antonio Conte last season, but has started both of Chelsea's pre-season matches in the wake of Sarri's arrival from Napoli following Conte's sacking earlier this summer.
Luiz is delighted with the turnaround. "I came back to Chelsea to stay," he said in declarations published on Sky Sports.
"When I took my decision to come back here from Paris it was to win the Premier League and to do something again with Chelsea, so I am very happy here," said Luiz, who admires the more aggressive style brought in by the new coach.
"I love Sarri's philosophy. We play high, with a lot of possession in a technical way. He's trying to help us every single day to learn quickly his philosophy," he said.
Chelsea's pre-season began with a 1-0 win against Perth Glory and was followed by a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan in the International Champions Cup on Saturday night, with their next two matches seeing them face Arsenal and Manchester City in games which will give an idea of their title hopes for the coming season.
"A new philosophy always takes time. But it also depends on us. If we're dedicated every day and doing things every single day in training, we're trying to learn quickly," continued the defender, who added he would be happy to see new signings even if it made it harder for him to keep his first team place.
"You have many players that can play in the starting XI, so it is a positive challenge for everybody," he commented.