Maurizio Sarri has made his intentions very clear at Chelsea between now and the end of the transfer window: convince the club's best players to stay.

Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and Willian are all top targets for the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, with the former two recently suggesting they're prepared to leave.

Replacing the Belgium duo would be a tall order for Sarri, which is why the Italian wants to have face-to-face talks with them to discuss the future.

"Clearly we would always like to keep the strongest players," said Sarri in a recent press conference, "this is what any manager wants to do, what any club wants to do.

"But we will have to see how the market goes over the next few days. I feel much more a pitch manager than a general manager.

"I think I am one of the few managers who is bored by the transfer market. I don't want to talk about it and not that interested in it.

"My task is growing the players that we have. A telephone call without looking them in the eye will not give me any certainty.

WILL HAZARD STAY?

"I want to meet them face-to-face, understand what the best thing is to do for everyone. I would also like a player to come on the pitch for four or five days to have a clear idea what the situation is."

Since the World Cup ended last weekend Hazard and Courtois have both made interesting comments about their futures at Chelsea.

While Hazard has said he's interested in pursing a new challenge after six years at Stamford Bridge, Courtois has repeatedly stated he wants to move closer to his family in Madrid.

Real are in for both players, but according to Spanish publication Sport, they now face competition for Hazard from La Liga rivals Barcelona.

Barca are looking to strengthen their attacking line and they're reportedly preparing a very tempting swap deal for Chelsea.

In exchange for Hazard, the Blaugrana are prepared to give them Ousmane Dembele plus a sizeable transfer fee.

Very tempting indeed. Dembele cost Barcelona £135.5m last summer and at 21 years old he remains one of the world's hottest young prospects.

Losing Hazard would come as a huge blow to Chelsea but signing a player with the ability and potential of Dembele would certainly soften the blow.