Courtois Has A Contract For Next Season – Conte

Antonio Conte has said that he wants Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois to stay at Chelsea, warning that a club cannot sell their best players if they have serious ambitions to compete for major trophies.

“My answer is always the same: this is a private conversation between the club and the player, and the agent of the player,” Conte said when asked about Hazard. “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.

“Courtois has a contract, also for next season, with the club. 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.

“You are talking about two important players for us. Yes, for sure, it will be very important to continue with this type of player, especially if your ambition is to try and compete for something important. It’s very important to try to improve your team, to strengthen your team, and not to sell the best players.”

Asked if Chelsea could realistically stand in Courtois’ way if he wants to join his children in Madrid, Conte replied: “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. [I hope] to continue to see this situation for many years.”

“I think the transfer market — this window — could be important if we are able to find the right players,” he added. “Otherwise, we continue to work with these players. I’m very happy to work with them and, for sure, the club will try to do the best during the transfer market to improve the squad in the numerical aspect.

“But, at the same time, I’m a coach and I have to work with my players. My task is on the pitch. For the transfer market, there is the club. The club decide whether they want to improve the squad or the team. For me, I’m very happy to work with my players.”