Antonio Conte has no intention of selling Diego Costa this summer despite strong interest from Atletico Madrid.
Costa’s second spell with the La Liga side between 2010-2014 saw him score 43 league goals from 94 appearances and earned him a move to Chelsea.
However, the Spain international struggled last season, which reflected in the Blues’ disappointing Premier League campaign, which saw them finish mid-table.
Rumours have persisted that the Brazilian-born Spanish international has been angling for a return to Madrid during the transfer window.
Atletico president Enrique Cerezo was even reported to have said a deal was close to completion this week before backtracking in an interview with newspaper AS.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Chelsea’s friendly against Austria’s WAC RZ Pellets tomorrow night, a defiant Conte said: “Diego is our player. He is a fantastic player, a player with a fundamental importance and there is no problem.
Video: Antonio Conte's rumoured Chelsea targets
“He stays with us, he is working very hard, he is very happy to work with his teammates and with me in the new idea of football. He is a Chelsea player.
“He is an important player, a very strong player, one of the best in the world, and I am sure when he goes into our ideas he will score a lot of goals for us.”
Conte is approaching one week in the job now at Chelsea and has been getting to know his new squad in Austria in a seven-day training camp.
The former Italy manager has been impressed by the professionalism shown by the team and thinks the right attitude is fundamental to success.
“I am very happy because I am finding the players with the right attitude and the right behaviour,” Conte added.
“They are great workers and this is very important because we need to have a bit of time to go into a new idea of football, and a new method of work with different tactical, physical and mental aspects.
“It’s also important to have a bit of time for me to know the players and for the players to know me. In the Euros I had a finished team. Now we are building. In this moment it’s normal I have a bit of difficulty with this change because with Chelsea we are beginning our season.
“I am getting to know a lot of new players and I’m bringing them a new idea of football. We need a bit of time but I saw a lot of positive things this week.
“Today Fabregas, Pedro, Cuadrado, Cahill and Azpi arrived. This is important because I need to have the complete group to work, and to transfer my ideas to all the players.”
