'Eden must score more to compare with Messi & Ronaldo'
CONTE JIBE AFTER STAR'S REAL LINK
ANTONIO CONTE has warned Eden Hazard he needs to start bagging more goals if he wants to be a true great.
The Chelsea boss warned the 26-year-old he still has some way to go on the day his dad, Thierry, told a Belgium newspaper his son had turned down a new deal at Stamford Bridge because he wants Real Madrid to sign him.
Club sources insist no such offer has been made and Conte warned Hazard that if wants to be up there with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, he has to improve his strike rate.
Hazard has eight goals in 25 appearances for the west Londoners this season and managed 17 in 43 last season, as Chelsea won the title in their first year under Conte.
He has never hit the 20-goal mark for the club, with his best return being 19 in 53 appearances in the 2014-15 campaign.
“He could score more,” said Conte. “If you see the stats, you understand that he can score more goals.
“When you are a striker, or a No.10, your speciality must be to score. In this aspect, he has a lot of space for improvement.”
Conte also said he felt he could help Hazard hit the goalscoring heights if he stayed at Chelsea.
“My task, and the task for every coach, is to try and improve your players,” he said. “Because I think this is the only way to try to win something.
“If you are in a great club and you trust in the club and the ambition of the club, I think it’s right to stay.”
Claimed
Chelsea sources insisted Thierry Hazard’s claims of a new deal were untrue.
They said no contract had been offered as the ex-Lille star still has two and a half years on his current one and it is not club policy to think about renewing so early.
Thierry claimed his son has turned down the champions because he is hoping Real Madrid make a move.
“What I can reveal about Eden is that he refused a contract extension,” he said. “This was so that, if
necessary, he could follow the interest of Real, whom he could see himself playing for.”
Meanwhile, Conte was unable to give a reassurance Hazard’s Belgium team-mate keeper Thibaut Courtois will be at the club next season.
The Belgium ace, also linked with Real Madrid, has revealed he won’t talk about a new deal until the end of the season.
He has just this season and next left on his contract and Conte, whose side face Stoke at home today, could not give any guarantee he will be signing a new one.
“This is the type of conversation for the agent to have with the club,” he said. “If you ask me if I hope Courtois stays, yes, for sure.”
Courtois’ two young children from a previous relationship still live in Spain, where he spent time on loan with Atletico Madrid.
And he spoke openly this month about wanting to return, saying: “Everybody knows that due to my personal situation, Spain attracts me.”
Conte added: “I don’t know about this issue, but I think the family is not a problem.”