Committed Courtois hoping for new deal

Despite admitting that he misses his children, Courtois recently suggested he was preparing to stay at Chelsea by saying: “I love my children to death. When you miss them, you are sometimes wondering – shouldn’t I play in Spain in the next few years?

“That’s why I want to take time to decide how many years I want to sign up. When I sign, I want to tell Chelsea that I have been here for so many years because I am happy here.

“I like playing here, it’s a nice city, but of course I’m thinking about my private situation. I do not see any reason why I shouldn’t sign, but I just want to take my time with everything. I think I will have an agreement with Chelsea before the season ends.”

Conte has become used to speculation over the futures of Courtois and Hazard, but is confident that his players, like him, will remain focused on helping Chelsea through their busy Christmas schedule.

“In this period there are a lot of rumours,” said Conte. “We have to live with these rumours.

“For sure, my players are very clever to be focused on this period – to play, to go game by game, not listen to these rumours.”

Asked about the chance of David Luiz and Kenedy, who have both been linked with Newcastle United, leaving next month, Conte added: “I think the best way for me is not to read [anything] and only talk with the club. But there will be a lot of rumours now.

“We must be ready to face them while, at the same time, be ready to be focused and go game by game. We play every three days, so it’s not right these rumours disturb us.”

Chelsea will try to add to their squad, with Thomas Lemar and Ross Barkley on the club’s radar, and Conte is still interested in Virgil van Dijk and Alex Sandro. (© Daily Telegraph, London)