Antonio Conte says the futures of Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard are out of his hands
Conte said it is up to the club to sort their situations, as he reiterated their value to his team
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Your support makes all the difference.Antonio Conte has said it is up to the club and the players’ representatives to keep Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois at Chelsea for the long term, as he stressed he wants to keep both Belgian stars.
The title-winning duo have both been linked with moves to Real Madrid, with Hazard’s father Thierry even going so far as say in an interview with Le Soir that the player wants to move there eventually. While the playmaker still has two-and-a-half years left on his contract, though, Courtois has only 18 months.
Conte said it is up to the club to sort their situations, as he reiterated their value to his team.
“But my answer is always the same: this is a private conversation between the club and the player, and the agent of the player,” Conte began. “The same speech for Eden. I’m proud to have him in my team, in my squad, and I’m very happy to work with him. He’s a really good guy and has a lot of space for improvement, to become one of the best players in the world. But, I repeat, on this issue... this must be a private conversation between the player, the player’s agent and the club.
“Courtois has a contract, also for next season, with the club. 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 proud to create this synergy, this link between three fantastic goalkeepers with Thibaut, Willy Caballero and Eduardo. I’m very happy to have these three players. For sure, I hope to have all the players for the next season.
“This is the type of conversation for the agent to have with the club. For sure, if you ask me if I hope Courtois stays, yes for sure. We are talking about a fantastic goalkeeper, a really good guy, and I’m happy to work with him.”
When it was put to Conte that Courtois’s family live in Spain so it might be tough to stand in his way, the manager said: “I don’t know. I don’t know about this issue. For sure, when you are in a great club and you trust in the project, you want to stay. You want to continue to play for this team. I think the family is not a problem. But I repeat, this is a private conversation between the player, his agent and the club.
“My only hope is that I continue to train him because I’m very happy with his commitment, his behaviour and the atmosphere the three goalkeepers have created with the goalkeeping coaches. To continue to see this situation for many years.”
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