Antonio Conte has reiterated that he plans to stay at Chelsea next season despite ongoing speculation about his future.
There have been reports in Conte’s native Italy that he could leave Stamford Bridge and return to his former job as national-team boss.
It has also been claimed that his former international team-mate Alessandro Costacurta will travel to London to try to persuade Conte to take charge of Italy again.
Asked if he plans to speak to Costacurta, Conte said: “No. I must be honest. No.
“Costacurta is a friend and we played together in the national team.
“Maybe he forgot I still have 18 months of a contract with Chelsea and my intention and my desire and my will is to respect this contract.”
There has been speculation over Conte’s position for some time.
The Chelsea hierarchy are reported to be unhappy with his recent comments about not having control over transfers, while Conte has hinted that he is frustrated with the club’s transfer policy.
Conte said: “There has been a lot of speculation about me.
“The only thing I can tell you is that I have 18 months of a contract and my will is to stay here. I don’t see any problems
“We signed a three-year contract and the desire is to continue and to respect this contract.
“There has been speculation that I will be sacked, but my focus is on continuing with my team.
“I trust in my work and this is the only thing I trust. This is the only way that brought me to be one of the best coaches and managers.”
This post was last modified on 02/02/2018