Conte insists he wants Cuadrado to stay

Antonio Conte has reiterated that he wants Juan Cuadrado to stay at Chelsea.

The Colombian winger struggled to make an impact at Stamford Bridge following his move from Fiorentina in 2015.

He returned to Italy to spend last season on loan at Juventus, who have expressed an interest in signing him, as have AC Milan.

But Blues boss Conte says Cuadrado, 28, is part of his plans for the coming campaign.

Conte said: “In my idea of football, I love the role of the winger when doing a one-v-one.

“Cuadrado is one of these. Cuadrado is a Chelsea player and I hope he remains one.”

Cuadrado came on as a second-half substitute in Chelsea’s 1-0 win against Liverpool in a friendly in California.

Gary Cahill scored the only goal of the game at the Pasadena Rose Bowl, where Cesc Fabregas was sent off for a second-half challenge on Ragnar Klavan, for which the Chelsea midfielder later apologised.

“When two great teams face each other, nobody wants to lose, and for this reason I saw a competitive game,” Conte said.

“I was pleased with my team because I saw the right spirit and a lot of positive things.”