Chelsea players are worried that head coach Antonio Conte could push Eden Hazard towards the Stamford Bridge exit door with his safety-first tactics.

The Blues are prepared to pay Hazard over £300,000-a-week to extend his contract past 2020 and ignore interest from Real Madrid and Manchester City.

But team-mates of Hazard fear he is becoming exasperated with being asked to play in the false nine position in Chelsea’s biggest games and believe he wants to play for a club that will go toe-to-toe against Europe’s best.

Although Conte is expected to leave Chelsea at the end of the season, there is genuine concern that the Italian’s approach will force Hazard to consider whether or not the Blues can match his ambitions. Chelsea had promised Hazard that he would be given the platform to one day win the Ballon d’Or at the club, but his performances in the biggest games are being stifled.