Sarri Wants To Keep 'Stongest Players'  (Sky Sports)

New Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri says he hopes Chelsea do not sell any of their best players this summer.

But the Italian added that he sees his job as developing players and that he will not be taking a keen interest in the transfer market.

Chelsea won the title two seasons ago under Sarri's compatriot Antonio Conte but could only finish fifth last season - and Eden Hazard, N'Golo Kante, Thibaut Courtois and Willian have all been linked with moves away this summer.

But Sarri said: "Clearly we would always like to keep all the strongest players. This is what any manager wants to do, this is what any club wants to do.

"But then we will have to see how the transfer market will go over the next few days.

"I feel a lot more of a field manager than a general manager - I think that I am one of the few managers who is bored by the transfer market.

"I don't want to talk about the transfer market and I am not that interested in it. I think our task as managers is growing the players that we have."

However, Sarri says he will be on the hunt for a central midfielder.

"I cannot name any names, because I don't know who these people are," he said. "I spoke with the club and I said ideally a pinch of quality is lacking, for a certain kind of play.

"At the end of the transfers, it will be up to me to decide what the most suitable play for our squad is. I must adapt to Chelsea and the available players."

Sarri is fresh from an impressive stint at Napoli but he thinks the Premier League presents a tougher environment.

"This is a difficult challenge but a fascinating one," he said. "Here we have the strongest coaches in the world and the strongest players in the world.

"I know this will be an extremely difficult challenge for me. The Premier League is different to Serie A because it is stronger at the moment."