Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has rejected suggestions Eden Hazard will push to leave in the summer if they fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
The Blues were dumped out of Europe by Barcelona in midweek and are currently fifth in the Premier League and four points behind fourth place Liverpool.
Chelsea are desperate to convince Hazard to sign a new deal before the end of the season but the task has been made even more difficult following their on-field woes.
Hazard stayed at Chelsea when they finished 10th in the Premier League in the 2015/16 campaign and Conte does not believe his future at the club hinges on whether they qualify for the Champions League this season.
“Don’t forget two years ago Chelsea finished 10th with many players of this season… they decided to continue to play for this club,” the London Evening Standard quote Conte as saying on Friday.
“Many players they were here when we finished 10th. This is not a question for me, it is a question for the players.”
Manchester City have also been linked with a summer move for Hazard but Chelsea will reject any offers from their Premier League rivals, even if Pep Guardiola’s side are willing to pay a word record fee.
Only City duo Kevin De Bruyne (7.91) and Sergio Aguero (7.88) have a higher WhoScored rating than Hazard (7.79) in the Premier League this season.
