BELGIAN DUO TO STAY PUT
Chelsea manager gets tough with Courtois and Hazard amid interest from Real Madrid
CHELSEA manager Maurizio Sarri will tell Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois they are going nowhere in crunch talks with the Belgians today.
Courtois has been the subject of a £35 million (RM185 million) bid from Real Madrid but Chelsea do not want to sell at that price.
Hazard is also a Real target but Chelsea do not want to let their star player leave ahead of Sarri’s first season in the Premier League.
Both are expected to report to Chelsea’s Cobham training ground today after helping Belgium finish third in the Russia World Cup.
Sarri has insisted since arriving at Chelsea that he would only speak to the duo face-to-face and the Italian wants to clear the air before tomorrow’s Community Shield. Neither will be involved against Manchester City at Wembley.
Courtois is entering the final year of his contract and Chelsea risk losing him for nothing when it expires next summer.
Club insiders suggested their stance on the 26-year-old goalkeeper had changed in recent weeks but that they would only sell if they could secure a replacement.
They have been unsuccessful, plus Real’s £35 million valuation was deemed too low. The Spanish club had offered £100 million in a joint bid for Courtois and winger Willian.
Hazard has two years left on his £220,000-a-week contract. The offer of an improved £300,000-aweek deal has long been on the table.
Meanwhile, Willian has instructed his lawyers to act on a document that is being circulated, with the Chelsea forward claiming he has been the victim of forgery.
On Thursday the Brazilian posted a picture of a letter on Instagram which appears to show his signature authorising an agent to act on his behalf.
Willian, who was late returning to pre-season training after his passport expired, has been linked with a move to Real this summer and insists the certificate, which is stamped with FIFA logos, is a fake.
The 29-year-old, who was also wanted by Manchester United, denies any involvement and is believed to be furious.
In the Instagram post, Willian writes: “I have been informed that a ‘letter of authorisation for player agent FIFA’, allegedly signed in my name has been circulated through the football market.
“In such letter, Mr Denirobson Dias would grant an authorisation to Mr Renee Pinheiro Anunciacao to represent me until Aug 15, 2018, throughout football clubs in the United Kingdom and France.
“I would like to clarify that I never signed such letter, the content of which I completely deny.”
He adds there is ‘clear evidence that my signature has been forged, or anyway misused’. As a result, he has asked his lawyers to open appropriate legal proceedings.
Sarri wants to speak to Willian in the next day or so about his future and to clarify why he was late returning. The manager said this week he found it ‘strange’.
Cesar Azpilicueta, who captained Chelsea in their friendly against Arsenal in Dublin on Wednesday, admits the players may not adapt to Sarri’s methods as quickly as they did to the Antonio Conte system that saw them crowned champions in 2017.
“Two years ago when we switched to three at the back, from the first day we were very good,” said Azpilicueta after Chelsea’s 1-1 draw and subsequent penalty shootout defeat by Arsenal.
“Hopefully we can switch again to a back four. It is true that you never know how long it can take. We still have a few players not with us, but with the squad that we have we have to try to go with everything on Sunday (tomorrow), and try to lift the trophy.”