Brazilian midfielder Oscar is targeting a fresh start in England as he enjoys his first full pre-season with Premier League champions Chelsea.
Oscar, who has played over 200 times for the Blues since he joined from Brazilian side Internacional for £25million back in 2012, has been on international duty for the last three summers playing in the Olympics, Confederations Cup and World Cup.
However, he was left out of the Brazil squad for this summer’s Copa America tournament due to a slight injury, and he believes that will benefit his domestic form ahead of the 2015/16 season.
The attacking midfielder, currently in America with the squad told the club website: "This is the first time I have started pre-season and for me this is very, very important."
He also added that he "wants to play better," and "score more goals, to play my best football," and this is "because I know my quality and I know for sure I can make this season better than last season."
Oscar struggled towards the back end of the 2014/15 season, before picking up an injury that saw him ruled out of the tournament in Chile. On this, manager Jose Mourinho spoke of his excitement to see a rejuvenated Oscar in pre-season training.
Back in May Mourinho said: "Oscar is a fabulous player but he’s never had a pre-season in his life. He’s always been playing in tournaments everywhere, he’s never had a rest."
Mourinho commented that "Now, because he’s injured he’s not going to the Copa America and I have a feeling that next year Oscar can have the same kind of evolution as [Eden] Hazard had this season," which was high praise indeed, as Hazard won the Player of the Year award.
Oscar will be hoping to get run out in New York on Thursday, as Chelsea face New York Red Bulls in the first game of their pre-season tour of the United States. They'll then go on to play Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, then finishing with a game against Fiorentina at Stamford Bridge before the big kick-off against Swansea on August 8.