Chelsea not pursuing Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez, insists Antonio Conte

Chelsea attempted to find out the lie of the land with Sanchez's situation through intermediaries on Monday, but Conte confirmed the club had not made a serious move for the player

The Chelsea manager downplayed talk of a late Chelsea bid for Alexis Sanchez (Getty)

Chelsea will not be pursuing Alexis Sanchez in this window, Antonio Conte has stressed, as the champions instead try to sign West Ham United’s Andy Carroll.

The Independent was told that Chelsea had attempted to find out the lie of the land with the Arsenal player’s situation through intermediaries on Monday, having been interested in him last summer.

There was also the factor that Sanchez enjoys living in London, but it quickly became apparent that Manchester United were too far down the line in their negotiations for the player.

Directly asked whether Chelsea were out of the race to sign the 29-year-old, Conte said: “Yes, yes.”

“Now, this is not important to talk about Sanchez. Not important. Because he’s not our good problem, so why do I have to waste words on nothing.”