Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has admitted that he had not initially planned to sign David Luiz from Paris Saint-Germain.

Throughout the summer, the Blues had been rebuffed in their attempts to sign a defender until Luiz emerged as a surprise target during the final 36 hours of the transfer window.

The signing of the Brazilian international was comfortably completed inside the deadline, but Conte has acknowledged that he had not foreseen that the 29-year-old would make his return to Stamford Bridge.

The 47-year-old told reporters: "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."

Luiz could feature in the squad when Chelsea face Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday.