Chelsea transfer news: David Luiz wants to stay beyond current deal despite dispute as ‘I love this club’

The centre-half also acknowledged his side had a point to prove in the 2-0 win over Manchester City after recent defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and Wolves

David Luiz says he wants to stay at Chelsea and that he “loves the club”, as the centre-half continues to negotiate a new deal, despite issues over the length of the contract. The Brazilian’s current deal is soon to run out, and Chelsea’s general policy has been to only give one-year extensions to players over 30. David Luiz wants a longer deal, as he reiterated how much he enjoys playing at Stamford Bridge.

The centre-half also acknowledged his side had a point to prove in the 2-0 win over Manchester City after recent defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and Wolves, but said the huge challenge of playing “the best team in the world” actually focused him, as he scored the second goal in a brilliant individual display that went a long way to securing a clean sheet in Chelsea’s 2-0 win.

The performance itself marks quite a turnaround for David Luiz, who seemed almost finished at Stamford Bridge under Antonio Conte, but again looked indispensable on Saturday. It only bolsters his negotiating position in contract discussions.

“We are still talking, let’s see. Let’s see what the future brings,” the Brazilian said of his contract situation. “I love this club, everybody knows I want to stay.”

Pressed on whether there are problems over the length of the deal, David Luiz said: “I am just trying to enjoy, like every single day, Then, for sure, we will do the best thing for me, for Chelsea, for everybody.”

David Luiz meanwhile said that manager Maurizio Sarri was right in his recent criticisms of the side’s mentality, and the differences in application between the 3-1 defeat to Spurs and the win over City.

“It’s down to us to analyse when things don’t go well. He is one of the top managers in the world and we have to look at ourselves and understand why sometimes we are good and why sometimes we are not. When you have this you can improve yourself. He’s right in many points because he knows, he has experience and it’s up to us and up to players like me with more experience to try to help him.

“I think you have to trust ourselves, our job and our plan. It’s never easy to lose the games and then come back stronger. Maurizio is a fantastic coach and before that he is a fantastic man, he talks with us and says let’s keep doing what we are doing. In his first three or four months here he has already changed a lot our style and philosophy. Chelsea controlled all the game against Wolves and then lost it in the last 10 minutes, so this is an opportunity to learn and be even stronger in the future.

“Every time when you can play this type of game is a time to give everything and understand how far you can go. So this was an amazing game and we beat the best team in the world.”

David Luiz played a key role in Chelsea's win over City (AFP/Getty Images)

David Luiz said that the challenge of playing a side as good as City focuses the mind.

“Yeah it was a great game against a great team, a fantastic coach. At the moment they are the best team in the world, more than three years together. It is never easy to play against them, but I think we had the right humility and right plan to win the game.”

The way they play, they are able to keep the ball, even the goalkeeper is amazing. That way you have to be honest and have the humility to say ‘OK we have to defend, we have to suffer’ because we play against a fantastic team. They create many opportunities if you don’t concentrate. That’s what we tried to do on the defensive side and then we tried to enjoy our space when we had it.”

The centre-half also admitted that it is actually easier to play against a fixed striker. Both Sarri and Pep Guardiola went with false nines in Saturday’s game and while it worked for Chelsea, City struggled to open up a defence where David Luiz was a rock.

“They come with a different plan, like we did today… I think it’s better when you have a reference than without. It’s always more difficult when you don’t have a reference. But like I said it’s not just about one player.”

Asked whether he’d rather play against a striker, such as Sergio Aguero, David Luiz said “of course, of course”.

The Brazilian also said he hopes the defeat “hurts” City and shows Chelsea can get much closer to them.

“I hope, I hope, I hope so. But I also know they are a fantastic team and they accept to lose sometimes too because they have experience of that. But I hope we hurt them and we can come in the table and be closer to them.

“We had belief since the beginning. Many, many of the teams respect Chelsea. Chelsea is a big club, it doesn’t matter the position of the table, the respect is always there.”