Football
Liam Twomey, Chelsea correspondent 6y

Antonio Conte dismisses fresh reports he wants to leave Chelsea

LONDON -- Antonio Conte has rubbished fresh speculation that he could leave Chelsea at the end of the season and confirmed that his wife and daughter have moved to England.

A report in the Sunday Times at the start of the international break claimed that people close to Conte had signalled his intention to leave Stamford Bridge next summer, having grown disillusioned with a lack of support from Chelsea's board and the inaccessibility of owner Roman Abramovich.

Conte's decision to sign an improved contract rather than an extension this summer fuelled speculation that he will not be at Chelsea in the long term, and the 48-year-old also reiterated his desire to one day return to Italy in an interview with Italian broadcaster RAI Radio 1 last month.

But in a news conference on Friday, Conte insisted that his words had been misinterpreted and he is not thinking about leaving Chelsea.

"For two weeks I am reading wrong things," he said. "I did an interview two weeks ago and I am sure the translation was wrong, because I only said one day in the future I would like to go back to Italy. I know very well my position.

"I have two years [on my] contract with Chelsea to go and I'm happy to work for this club, with my players and I like to work with my players. I like to have this great feeling with our fans, our supporters. I don't see problems but sometimes I think that we want to create these type of situations.

"Another situation I want to clarify is my family stay with me here, not in Italy. My daughter is going to school here in Cobham. When [you] want to write something it is important to write the truth and my family stays here, not in Italy."

The other off-field issue that clouded Chelsea's international break was academy youngster Charly Musonda's decision to vent his frustration at a lack of first-team opportunities this season with an Instagram post that was widely seen before being deleted.

Chelsea this week reminded Musonda that he has to earn his place in the first team, and Conte said: "I spoke with him and I think Charly understood his mistake. He has to continue to work very hard to improve himself, in the physical and tactical aspect, but he is working very well.

"His mind must be focused on the pitch, not on social media. I told him this and my task is to help him always to find the right way and not the wrong way.

"The only thing I can say is he is a talented player. I see him very well and he has really good prospects to be an important player for Chelsea. He has to continue to work in this way and for sure the opportunity will come."

Asked if Musonda could use Andreas Christensen as an example of an academy graduate establishing himself in the first team, Conte added: "I think Christensen can be a good example. After two years on loan and a good experience with Borussia Monchengladbach, he is here and ready to play with Chelsea.

"But for Charly, he could have a good opportunity this season to play also because we have only three No. 10s. We have [Eden] Hazard, Willian and Pedro, and usually two play, so this season could be good to show he deserves to play. I am sure about this because he is a talented player and I am sure about his career -- if his attention is more on the pitch and not on social media."

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