Conte: Batshuayi going nowhere

Antonio Conte has declared that striker Michy Batshuayi is not leaving Stamford Bridge.

The young Belgian is yet to make a start in the Premier League since joining the Londoners last summer and was overlooked for the 3-0 victory over Bournemouth despite main striker Diego Costa being suspended.

Conte opted to play without a striker instead and Batshuayi, who cost £33m, only came on for the last few seconds after Pedro had put Chelsea 3-0 ahead.

Despite this Conte, insists he has a bright future at the club.

“This player is a new player for Chelsea and to go on loan now is a defeat for the club and above all for me,” he said.

“We have to continue to work with him every day to try together to improve him.

“I want to win and every decision I make is because I want to win and I have to take the best decision.

“Michy Batshuayi is a really good player, but he’s a young player and he’s trying to adapt to this league, this football.

“I try to make the best decision for the team, but I’m sure Michy could have the possibility to show his talent in the future.”

Conte also felt that his players showed they could win without Costa and N'Golo Kante, who was also suspended, and is a sign they will fight for the title to the very end.

“I think today we sent a good message,” he continued.

“A lot of people waited (to see if) without two really important players – Costa and Kante – we could lose points. It didn’t happen.

“If you ask me, I hope to continue [winning] until the end of this season.

“For me it’s important only for the table. With these 12 wins in a row we took 36 points and our table is fantastic now.

“I always thought that the record is not important if at the end you don’t reach something important in your championship.

“But to be with my players, to have this record, for sure we are proud about this.

“Now we want to continue in this way. For sure it won’t be easy."

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