Chelsea won't sell Oscar, says Conte

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte says he has no intention of selling Oscar during the January transfer window.

The Brazilian has not started a Premier League match since Conte's decision to move to a 3-4-3 formation following the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal on 24 September, but the Chelsea boss played down speculation that the 25-year-old could make a move to Serie A giants Inter Milan or Chinese club Jiangsu Suning.

"Oscar's future is Chelsea, full stop," the former Juventus and Italy manager said. "For me, Oscar is an important player in the squad. He's in good form. It's logical I have to take the starting XI every week, but Oscar is a great player. For me, he stays at Chelsea.

"It's important that this message arrives for all. But Oscar will stay with us because I consider him an important player for Chelsea."

Conte also confirmed that Cesc Fabregas remains part of his plans, despite the Spanish midfielder playing just 89 minutes in the Premier League this season: "The same speech as for Oscar. I anticipate this question," he smiled.

Chelsea have scored 16 goals and conceding none in five successive Premier League wins since that 3-0 reverse at the Emirates, and Conte hopes the international break has not checked his side's momentum ahead of Sunday's visit to the Riverside to face Middlesbrough.

"We have been working over these days to avoid this and to find the right concentration and focus," Conte continued.

"On Sunday we know we’ll have a tough game against a strong team who drew with Arsenal and Manchester City. But I must be honest: there is this possibility, that our momentum might be stopped, so that’s why we’ve been working very hard to avoid this."

Premier League top scorer Diego Costa is likely to start on Teesside, despite missing Spain's friendly with England at Wembley on Tuesday following a knock.

"Diego is an example for all, a player who works so hard with or without the ball, and I want to continue this way," Conte said.

"If he continues to score, I’ll be very happy. But I’ll be happier still to see this commitment, this work-rate during training and in games, to work for the team. If all the players are able to think in this way, it’s fantastic and we’ll be a good team, a very tough team to play."

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