Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has shrugged off speculation over the futures of the likes of Eden Hazard and David Luiz.
Hazard, who has repeatedly been touted for a possible move Real Madrid, has this week been linked with Manchester United.
It has been reported that United’s former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is keen to take the Belgian to Old Trafford.
And there continues to be speculation ahead of the January transfer window that Luiz could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge after recently being dropped by Conte.
Luiz, also linked with Real, has more recently been linked with Arsenal and Newcastle.
Reports claimed the Brazilian is top of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger’s list of targets, while Newcastle are also said to be interested.
However, speaking at a press conference ahead of this weekend’s game against Everton, Conte said the speculation was to be expected ahead of the transfer window opening.
“A difficult period is starting, for every club and every coach, because in this period there are a lot of rumours. Some rumours are true, some are wrong,” he said.
“We must be ready to face this situation. I think the best way for me is to not read it and only to chat with the club and then to try to improve our squad if this is possible.
“We must be ready to face these rumours, but at the same time we must be ready to focus and to go game by game because we have to play every three days and I think it’s not right to let these rumours disturb us.
“We have to live with these rumours. My players are clever (enough) to go game by game not listen to these rumours – and a lot of them aren’t true.”