Antonio Conte warns Chelsea players over transfer rumours amid Eden Hazard to Manchester United reports

Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images
Simon Johnson21 December 2017

Antonio Conte appeared to dismiss Manchester United’s chances of signing Eden Hazard and confirmed Chelsea will attempt to add to the squad next month.

United were linked with a £90million bid for Hazard earlier this week, but Conte is determined to keep his prize asset.

Chelsea are looking to hand Hazard a contract extension and more talks are planned at the end of the season.

United manager Jose Mourinho valued Hazard at £100m "per leg" when he was his manager at Chelsea between 2013-15.

And speaking about the Belgium star’s link to Old Trafford, Conte said: "In this period there are a lot of rumours. We have to live with these rumours.

"For sure, my players are very clever to be focused on this period: to play, to go game by game, not listen to these rumours. Also because a lot of these rumours are not true."

Brazilian duo David Luiz and Kenedy face uncertain futures at the club too. The former has been linked with a number of clubs including Arsenal, while it is understood that the latter will join Newcastle on loan if Chelsea sign a replacement.

When asked about the chance of the duo leaving, Conte added: "A difficult period is starting, especially for every club, for every coach. We must be ready to face this situation.

"I think the best way for me is not to read (anything) and only talk with the club. But there will be a lot of rumours now.

"We must be ready to face them while, at the same time, be ready to be focused and go game by game. We play every three days, so it's not right that these rumours disturb us."

The Italian has consistently complained about the size of his squad, but has given his biggest hint yet that Chelsea will make signings next month. The Blues have a number of targets in mind, including Alex Sandro, Thomas Lemar and Ross Barkley.

Asked by Standard Sport about the importance of bringing players in before allowing anyone to depart, he replied: "Yeah, but as you know very well, I think about this topic I prefer to talk with the club and try to find the best solution together for the team.

"If there is the possibility to improve the squad on the numerical aspect, I think it would be a good choice. But, at the same time, I'm enjoying working with these players.

"At this moment, I'm ready to continue to play with all these players. They are showing me great commitment, great behaviours, and I'm very happy to work with these players.

"At the same time, if there is the possibility to improve our squad, I think the club will try to do this."

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