Antonio Conte has insisted Eden Hazard is priceless to Chelsea and will definitely not be leaving Stamford Bridge.
Hazard scored one of the goals of the season during Chelsea’s emphatic 3-1 victory over London rivals Arsenal at Stamford Bridge last week.
The Belgium international, who is being spoken about as a candidate for Player of the Year, is still being monitored by Real Madrid even though he still has over three years left on his contract.
When asked by Standard Sport how much he’s worth compared to Paul Pogba following his world record £89m transfer from Manchester United, Conte said: “I’m not very good to put a price on a player.
“Is he priceless to Chelsea? I think Eden is for sure a great player, a top player. He is at a very high level. But I don’t see the problem because we don’t want to sell him. He hasn’t got a price now.”
Hazard, who suffered a minor hamstring injury against Leicester last month, has been substituted in his last four appearances, including that outing at the King Power Stadium.
The 26-year-old has been key to Chelsea’s surge to the top of the table and Conte admits he is looking to protect one of his star players.
The Chelsea coach added: “When I make a substitution, there is always a reason. In the last game (Arsenal) I wanted him to get great applause from the fans because he deserved this for the game that he played, not only with the ball but also without the ball.
“But sometimes I try to preserve some of the players, sometimes there is a tactical choice.”
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