Chelsea

Antonio Conte: 'David Luiz is showing his real value for Chelsea'

By Giuseppe Labellarte, Reporter | 11 February 2017

Antonio Conte believes that David Luiz is beginning to show his "real value" for Chelsea, but has warned him to maintain his concentration during the title run-in.

Antonio Conte has claimed that David Luiz is beginning to show his "real value" for Chelsea, but has asked him to maintain his concentration during the Premier League title run-in.

The Brazilian re-joined the Blues from Paris Saint-Germain for £30m in August and has helped the West London side establish a nine-point gap at the top of the table.

The 29-year-old has settled firmly into Conte's three-at-the-back formation and produced a series of near-flawless displays, much to the delight of his manager.

"He is showing his real value," the Italian told Sky Sports News. "I'm pleased with his performances. It's important for him, for Chelsea and for me.

"I like to repeat [to] all my players - you need a lot of time to be something important and you can have only one minute to disrupt all this. It's important to continue this way with great concentration, with great focus in every game.

"When you are a central defender and you play in the middle you must pay great attention, because you have to play football with great intelligence... to understand the moment to be aggressive and to cover the others."

Luiz is expected to start on Sunday as Chelsea take on Burnley at Turf Moor in the Premier League.