Conte urges Hazard to forget about Real Madrid

Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte believes star attacker Eden Hazard will reject the lure of Real Madrid and stay at Stamford Bridge.

The Belgium international has recaptured the form that saw him named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2014-15, helping Chelsea lead the Premier League by 10 points.

Hazard’s displays, including 11 league goals and four assists, have reportedly attracted attention from the Santiago Bernabeu, with Zinedine Zidane thought to have put the attacker top of his wish list.

But Conte hopes the 26-year-old opts to remain at Chelsea, saying the club’s hunger for success should help convince Hazard to stay.

“The will of the player is very important,” the Italian said.

“If the player is happy and the player knows he will stay in a great team with great ambition, I don’t see any problem, even if this club calls itself Real Madrid.

“Eden is a Chelsea player, we are happy with him and he is happy with us. I don’t see problems about him.”

Conte, whose team host Crystal Palace on Saturday as they continue their charge towards the title, said Chelsea had lofty goals.

“We are already in a great club. We have started to build something good for the future, and the ambitions of this club are the same as mine and my players,” he said.

“We stay in the right place if you want to be competitive in the game, be competitive in the future.

“I hope to play in the Champions League next season so I’m sure about this, that he’d be staying in the right place, in a great club with great ambition. I can tell this with 100 per cent.

“It’s very important to feel that you stay in the right place with ambition.”