LUIZ IS READY FOR A SCRAP

Brazilian determined to stay and fight for his Chelsea future

DAVID LUIZ wants to stay at Chelsea and fight for his place in Maurizio Sarri’s reshaped team.

The Brazil centre-back fell out of favour under old boss Antonio Conte last season.

He played only twice in the Premier League after a row with Conte following Chelsea’s 3-0 Champions League defeat at Roma last October and was also hampered by a thigh injury.

There was speculation Luiz could be one of the players moved on and he has been linked with Napoli, AC Milan and Juventus.

With Chelsea negotiating to bring in new defensive additions, Luiz’s place remains insecure.

But he has played both pre-season games under Sarri in a reshaped back four and after a penalty shoot-out win over Inter Milan here, he wants to stay.

Luiz, now 31 and in his second spell at the club after returning from Paris Saintgermain two years ago, said: “I came back to Chelsea to stay here.

“When I took my decision to come back here from Paris it was to win the Premier League and do something again with Chelsea. I am very happy here.”

The Brazilian said pointedly he was enjoying life under former Napoli coach Sarri after a miserable end to last season under Conte.

“I had a lot of time to take care of me last year, so now I’m 100 per cent,” said Luiz. “I love this philosophy. We play high, with a lot of possession of the ball, in a technical way. The coach is trying to help us every single day to learn quickly his philosophy.

“He does not want me to change as a player. It is the same style – play from the back, build from the back, try to help the guys, try to be in line.

“People know me – I like to be happy, enjoy my life. We have the best job in the world. The coach comes over as a human being.

“If you’re not happy doing your job it doesn’t matter if you’re a footballer or not. We have to be happy to do our best.

“He is playing a different system. It is his decision. He has many players who can play with four, three or five in the back, so he is the one to decide.

“We are training really hard every single day, double sessions, to learn quickly.”

Luiz is not worried about the possible arrival of Juventus’s Mattia Caldara, who is also being considered.

He added: “It is a challenge for everybody. It is good to have fantastic players, more than just 11.

“We have many players that can play in the starting 11, so it is a positive challenge for everybody.”

Chelsea secured their second successive pre-season win in Nice. After a 1-1 draw with Inter at the Allianz Riviera, they won the penalty shoot-out 5-4, with Cesar Azpilicueta hitting the winning spot kick.

Pedro, with his second goal in pre-season, gave Chelsea the lead after skilful work by Alvaro Morata, whose future is also in doubt.

But Sarri’s reshaped defence looked shaky at times and Roberto Gagliardini levelled.

Teenager Callum Hudsonodoi again looked impressive for Chelsea.