Conte shrugs off speculation over Courtois and Hazard
Antonio Conte has again shrugged off speculation over the futures of Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard.
Both Chelsea players continue to be linked with Real Madrid.
Goalkeeper Courtois, whose contract expires in 2019, has yet to agree a new deal at Stamford Bridge, leading to reports that he could be sold.
“These are private conversations between the agent of the player and the club,” said Blues boss Conte.
“If you ask me if I hope Courtois stays, for sure because we are talking about the best goalkeeper and a really good guy.
“Thibaut has a contract also for next season with Chelsea. We are talking about one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
“Me and my staff are proud to have him as goalkeeper and we are proud to create this synergy between three fantastic goalkeepers with Thibaut, Caballero and Eduardo.
“We are very happy to have these three players and for sure I hope to keep all the players for next season.”
Courtois’ children live in Madrid, where he was previously on loan at Atletico Madrid.
It has therefore been suggested that he could seek a return to the Spanish capital for family reasons.
But Conte said: “I don’t know about this issue. When you are in a great club and you trust in the project you want to stay and you want to continue to play for this team.
“I think the family is not the problem. But, I repeat, these are private conversations between the agent and the club.
“My hope is to continue to train him because I’m very happy with his commitment, his behaviours and the atmosphere we have created with these three goalkeepers and the two goalkeeper coaches.”
Meanwhile, speculation over Hazard’s future also continues.
The player’s father is reported to have told Belgian media that his son has rejected a new contract at Chelsea because he wants to leave the door open to a potential move to Real.
Asked about Thierry Hazard’s reported comments, Conte said: “My answer is always the same: these are private conversations between the club and the player and the agent of the player.
“I am proud to have him in my team and my squad and feel happy to work with him. He has a lot of space for improvement and to become one of the best players in the world.”
Hazard is under contract until 2020.
