Chelsea manager Antonio Conte says he has no intention of selling midfielder Nemanja Matic this summer.

The 27-year-old has been linked with a move to Serie A champions Juventus following the £32-million arrival of N’Golo Kante at Stamford Bridge, according to SkySports.

The Italian manager has bemused reports suggesting that the Serbian midfielder is set to leave the club, Conte insists that Matic remains an ‘important’ part of the team.

‘Matic is an important player for me, a very important player,’ Conte said.

‘In my idea of football he is an important player and he knows this.

‘N’Golo, Nemanja, Cesc [Fabregas], Oscar, [Nathaniel] Chalobah and [John Obi] Mikel, who is in the Olympics, it is not easy to choose. I want to have this problem.’

The 46-year-old manager expressed his desire to create a good team spirit as the Blues look to reignite their Premier League form after finishing 10th last season.

‘In these two days we worked a lot, but we want to play a good game against Liverpool and I want to see improvement of my players,’ he added.

‘When you have a bad season like last season for Chelsea I think the blame is a bit with all.

‘For this reason, it’s important to create a good spirit and stay together, both if we win or lose.’

Chelsea take on Premier League rivals Liverpool in a pre-season friendly on Thursday at the Rose Bowl in California.