David Luiz defends Chelsea forward Diego Costa and says 'people talk a lot without knowing anything'

David Luiz has tackled the febrile speculation surrounding Chelsea teammate Diego Costa and believes "sometimes people talk a lot without knowing anything". Costa was involved in a heated bust-up with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte earlier this month and was the subject of interest from Chinese Super League outfit Tianjin Quanjian.

The former Atletico Madrid forward silenced the transfer talk surrounding him and his future by scoring the opener and driving Chelsea to a 2-0 win over Hull City on Sunday (22 January). Luiz was quick to compliment the fiery Spaniard, whom he sees as one of the best players in the world.

"That's his job, to score goals, and he works on that every day," Luiz told French outlet SFR Sport."He does his job very well. He's a great player who's in fantastic form right now.

"He's playing well, and I'm happy for him because sometimes people talk a lot without knowing anything, and he's had to go through that. But it's normal people talk about the best players in the world, Diego is one of them."

When quizzed about Costa's absence from the Chelsea side that defeated Premier League champions Leicester City 3-0 at the King Power Stadium on 14 January Luiz gave little away but did mention that "everyone has offers". The former Paris Saint-Germain defender also spoke about Costa's happiness and thinks he simply just "wants to play football".

"I don't know. Things were normal," added Luiz, who has excelled at the heart of a three-man defence during his second stint at Chelsea. "Everyone has offers, everyone has things to talk about. He's happy, always wants to play football, that's what's important for me."

Costa is the Premier League's joint-top scorer this season with 15 goals, alongside Arsenal talisman Alexis Sanchez. It is likely the 28-year-old forward will be rested for his side's FA Cup fourth-round clash against Brentford this weekend but all eyes will be on him on 31 January when Chelsea travel to face Liverpool for a game that could have huge ramifications on the Blues' title race.