Matic ‘an important player’, Conte insists

 

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has insisted he wants to keep hold of Nemanja Matic, despite reported interest from Juventus.

Matic’s future has been cast into doubt following the arrival this summer of midfielder N’Golo Kante from Leicester.

But Conte, speaking on the club’s pre-season tour of the United States, said Serbian’s place in the squad was safe.

He said: “Matic is an important player for me. In my idea of football he is an important player and he knows this.

“N’Golo, Nemanja, Cesc [Fabregas], Oscar, [Nathaniel] Chalobah and [John Obi] Mikel, who is at the Olympics, it is not easy to choose. I want to have this problem.”