New Blues boss wants stars to stay

MAURIZIO Sarri wants to meet Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois for face-to-face talks in order to convince them their futures lie with Chelsea.

New Blues head coach Sarri faces a battle to keep hold of his star players after replacing Antonio Conte at Stamford Bridge.

Belgium internationals Hazard and Courtois, who are recovering having helped their country finish third at the World Cup, have been heavily linked with Real Madrid.

Goalkeeper Courtois has just a year remaining on his Stamford Bridge contract, while forward Hazard has an additional 12 months.

Chelsea’s failure to qualify for the Champions League will not aid Sarri’s cause, but he is hopeful his coaching methods can convince the pair to stay.

“The players you are referring to are very high-level players and I would like to keep them in my squad,” said the Italian at his unveiling yesterday.

“A telephone call without looking them in the eyes would not give me any certainty.

“I would like to meet these players face to face, talk to them and understand what the best thing to do would be for everyone.

“Before that I would also like a player to come on the pitch for four or five days together with me, to have a clear idea of what the situation is.

“Hazard is a very high-level player. He’s one of the top two or three European players.”

Former Napoli boss Sarri was appointed on a three-year contract on Saturday, just 24 hours after the sacking of compatriot Conte.

Conte’s second season in London was dogged by incessant speculation about his future and his apparent dissatisfaction with the club’s transfer policy.

Sarri appears more diplomatic about recruiting and retaining players.

He spoke of his disinterest in the transfer market and said he would be content to coach the players already at his disposal.

“I feel much more a pitch manager than a general manager,” said Sarri.

“I think that I am one of the few managers who is bored by the transfer market.

“I don’t want to talk about the transfer market and I’m not that interested in it.

“I think our task as managers is growing the players that we have.”

Italy midfielder Jorginho has already followed the 59-year-old from the Stadio San Paolo to London, joining the Blues for around £50m.