Chelsea manager Antonio Conte demanded that the club give him assurances that Eden Hazard wouldn't be sold when he first started working at Stamford Bridge, according toESPN.
Conte left his role as Italy head coach in the summer, having previously agreed to join the Blues earlier this year.
After guiding his national side to thequarter-finals in theEuropean Championships, the Italian had a small periodof rest before heading to London and starting to rebuild what at the time, was an under-performing Chelsea squad.
Antonio Conte always wanted to build Chelsea around Eden Hazard. That faith is now paying off big style. https://t.co/bdyFpECfAf pic.twitter.com/rZPoomGsF7
But despite having little time to prepare, it turns out that the 47-year-old already had a vision for the team and upon first meeting up with the Chelsea hierarchy to discuss the summer's transfer targets, Conte insisted that the club could not sell Hazard.
Sources close to Chelsea suggest that the new manager was adamant that the Belgian was the one player who could not be allowed to leave and placed the retention of Hazard's services at the top of his to-do list.
The wingerendured a difficult season last year and was linked with a move away from the club, after rumours had suggested that he was unhappy at Stamford Bridge.
Despite those rumours, Hazard remained with the Blues and Conte appears to have helped himrediscover the form that saw the playerwin numerous individual awards in 2015.
He has scored eight goals in the current campaign and his sparkling displays area key reason why the Blues have shot to the top of the Premier League in recent weeks.
Highest Squawka Performance Score in the Premier League this season:
Eden Hazard (858)
Alexis Sanchez (637)
Philippe Coutinho (589) pic.twitter.com/cvQ6ZgeFqw
The Belgianplayed a pivotal role in Chelsea's fabulous 3-1 win over title rivals Manchester City last weekend and scored the final goal of the match to all but seal the three points.
Hazard is likely to feature in the Blues' next match on Sunday, where they host West Bromwich Albion and will be looking to make it nine successive leaguewins in a row.