New Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri believes star man Eden Hazard is ‘very happy’ to still be at the club and has warned European rivals it will be ‘impossible’ to sign him this summer.
First-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois successfully forced through a move to Real Madrid and talked up a reunion with Hazard in Spain, much to the annoyance of Blues supporters.
But Sarri, speaking ahead of his first Premier League match against Huddersfield on Saturday, eased any fears by revealing the club has no desire to lose another big star.
‘(Eden) Hazard is with us,’ Sarri said. ‘I think definitely. It is a not a problem, I have spoken with him three or four times for everything and he never said something about the market so I think he is very happy to stay here.’
On whether a European side, now the Premier League window has closed, could pounce with a late bid, Sarri was uninterested and relaxed.
‘I think it’s impossible,’ he added. ‘It’s impossible because here the market is closed so we cannot change so important a player. It’s impossible.’
But while he categorically ruled out the departure of his biggest asset, Sarri refused to get into a discussion about the Belgian’s new contract, which remains unsigned.
Hazard’s current deal runs until 2020 but the Blues are keen to get him on a far longer contract as interest from Madrid and others grows.
‘I don’t want to discuss contracts,’ he added. ‘It’s not my job. My job is on the pitch, my job is to improve the players, my job is to try and win matches but it is not to sign new contracts.
‘I have seen a player very happy to stay here so I think it will be no problem the contract.’