Last week it was Marcos Alonso, now it’s David Luiz. It seems like summer recruit Jorginho has had quite the impact in just two games and a handful of training sessions with his new Chelsea teammates.
A £57 million acquisition, for whom the Blues beat off Manchester City, the Brazilian-born Italian midfielder has emerged as the heartbeat of the team, reuniting with his former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri in West London.
“He’s a fantastic player and I’m so happy to play with him, he’s top, top class,” Luiz was quoted as saying by the club website.
Usually, players who come from the Serie A struggle to adapt to the Premier League, but Jorginho appears to have fitted right in and he’s easily been the most Chelsea impressive player after two pre-season games played.
“He always wants the ball, he’s always in good space and always creates lines to pass. He already knows the philosophy of our coach and I’m so happy to have this kind of player in our team.”
Sitting deep in the midfield, Jorginho has helped a near-seamless transition from previous manager Antonio Conte’s defence-minded 3-4-3 to the positive style that is ‘Sarrismo’ in a 4-3-3 formation.
Luiz, after an injury wrecked 2017/18 season, has been playing in the heart with young defender Ethan Ampadu and the Brazilian had glowing words for a player 14 years his junior.
“He’s a fantastic boy, a fantastic player and he has great humility. He’s very humble, he has his feet on the ground and tries to learn every day. He’s 17, almost 18, but for me he’s already a man to play football.”
Cesar Azpilicueta, who used to play as central defender in Conte’s three-man defence, has been playing at right-back, while Gary Cahill is yet to report for duty after being involved with England at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
DON’T MISS | David Luiz’s loving life at Chelsea under new coach Maurizio Sarri
Despite having the experienced Antonio Rudiger at his disposal, Sarri has opted to play Luiz with Ampadu and the results have been impressive so far.
“It’s great for me to have this kind of opportunity, to play with this little boy, although he’s not a little boy, he’s already a man and he’s playing very well. I’ve played with many different players in the world, different ages and at different times of their lives, and it’s always great to play with someone like him.”
Chelsea edged Perth Glory 1-0 before drawing 1-1 with Inter Milan on the weekend. They then proceeded to beat the Serie A giants on penalties to ensure a 100 per cent start to the Sarri Era.
MUST READ | Chelsea forward Alvaro Morata is proud father of twin boys
“I try to teach him many things that I’ve already passed in my career. I try to help him in the best way because he deserves the best advice,” the 31-year-old Luiz added.
The Blues next take on Arsenal in midweek at the Aviva Stadium before turning their attentions towards Sunday’s Community Shield clash against Manchester City.
Sarri’s men open their 2018/19 Premier League campaign with an away fixture at Huddersfield Town on August 11.