Chelsea defender David Luiz has indicated that it took a couple of training session to convince Maurizio Sarri that he had a future with the club. The Brazilian had a difficult 2017/18 campaign where he was regularly on the sidelines through injury and that saw him restricted to just 10 league appearances over the course of the season.
Speaking to The Mail, Luiz acknowledged that he was not in the good books of Maurizio Sarri shortly after the Italian was appointed as the new head coach last summer. However, he added that he was able to convince the 60-year-old over his abilities after going through a few training sessions under his tutelage.
He said: “We had a conversation in the first week he arrived. He didn't want me to stay and that was normal. I'd been injured for a long period. I was in the last year of my contract. I was 31 years old and everyone was saying. No, not David. Then, after three days he saw me training and said, "No, you are going to stay".”
Luiz has received his fair share of criticism from the fans over the years but he has nonetheless been backed by most managers at Stamford Bridge. The same has remained the case this season where he made 36 appearances during the Premier League campaign and his performances were recently deemed sufficient enough to sign a new two-year deal with the club.
At present, Chelsea are dependent on Luiz and Andreas Christensen for the central defensive duties for the Europa League final with Antonio Rudiger sidelined for the rest of the season with a knee problem. The Blues defence will come up against Arsenal’s free-scoring duo of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette during the game and it remains to be seen whether they can sustain the pressure and take advantage of the defensive flaws from the opposition.