Antonio Conte has suggested he will not stand in the way of David Luiz or Michy Batshuayi if either player decides they want to leave Chelsea this month.

But head coach Conte has insisted that Chelsea cannot afford to let anybody go without replacing them, even though he will not be hitting the phones in a bid to get deals across the line during this month’s transfer window.

Central defender Luiz is close to returning from injury, but has dropped behind Andreas Christensen in Conte’s plans since falling out with the Italian earlier in the season.

Striker Batshuayi has started only two Premier League games this term and Conte has preferred to play Eden Hazard as a ‘false nine’ ahead of the Belgian when Alvaro Morata has been out.

Batshuayi is not unhappy at Chelsea, but wants to play enough to be sure of his place in Belgium’s World Cup squad, while Luiz will not be satisfied with returning from injury to the substitutes’ bench.