Chelsea forward Oscar is looking for a new lease of life at Stamford Bridge under new Chelsea boss Antonio Conte and said he was “happy to be back” and looking forward to starting more games for the Blues this upcoming season.
Conte took charge at Stamford Bridge after the completion of Italy's Euro 2016 campaign, where he was the national team's head coach. The main reason for the former Juventus manager to arrive at the west London club was Mourinho's departure from Chelsea last December.
The Brazil international saw his first team opportunities limited as he started in only 20 league matches, with the majority of them coming under interim manager Guus Hiddink. Mourinho has since taken charge at Manchester United earlier this month and Oscar claims his Chelsea teammates are working hard to impress Conte during the pre-season.
"I missed playing and I'm glad to be back. We are all training really hard and looking forward to the pre-season matches," Oscar told Chelsea's official website.
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The 24-year-old also went on to hailed the Blues' new manager. Oscar remains confident that Chelsea will improve a lot under Conte's guidance.
"I really liked it and I think the team are really going to improve a lot this season. He's very clear about what he wants from us. He spoke to everyone and it was very tactical with some good movements from the players," he said.
"Training has been very hard because it was a long break for me, but that's what pre-season is all about, getting fit for the matches."
Oscar was not a part of Brazil squad during their disappointing 2016 Copa America Centenario, where they crashed out of the tournament in the group stages. The forward went on to admit that he was in his homeland and was closely following Conte's Italy in the European championship.
"My summer was really nice. I stayed in Brazil with my family and we did a lot of travelling within the country, so it was very enjoyable," the Brazilian explained.
"I watched a lot of football during my time off. I saw the Copa America, Euros and some Brazilian matches. I was impressed with Antonio Conte's Italy at the Euros, they played very well and were unlucky to lose on penalties to a good Germany team."
