Chelsea
boss Antonio Conte admits he had no idea David Luiz might be available until
transfer Deadline Day.
Luiz's £30m move from Paris Saint-Germain to the club he first joined in
2011 was the biggest surprise of the summer with the erratic Brazil
international reinforcing the Blues' centre-back options.
And Conte admits that the nature of the transfer caught everyone by
surprise.
"When we take the decision about the players, we always take the decision
together - me and the club," Conte said.
"I told you that this transfer market was very difficult for us to reach our
targets, but at the last minute, on the last day, there was this situation
which was good for me and the club to improve the squad.
"For this reason, we bought David Luiz. We invested in David, and I'm very
happy. We took a player with a great personality, good technique and who
likes to play.
"I like to play football and I like defenders who like to play football. We
know that David can improve in defensive situations, but it's good and I'm
very happy he has come here.
"He's a good guy, a positive guy for the changing room. I'm very pleased for
this."
Luiz and fellow new recruit Marcos Alonso, a left-back signed from
Fiorentina, may have to wait for their first appearances.
"I think the new players needed a bit of time to work with a new
philosophy," Conte said.
"For this reason I think the chance to play at the start is not high."
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