Chelsea dealt transfer blow as target has promised boss he will not leave

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Roma coach Luciano Spalletti has revealed that midfielder Radja Nainggolan has promised him that he will not look to leave the club this summer.

The Giallorossi have already suffered a major blow this month with Miralem Pjanic moving to rivals Juventus, and they will be desperate to avoid seeing any more of their top stars leave the Stadio Olimpico.

In turn, Spalletti will be relieved having now held talks with Nainggolan, with the Belgian international strongly linked with a move to Chelsea ahead of next season to join Antonio Conte’s rebuild at Stamford Bridge, as reported by the Evening Standard.

It doesn’t appear as though the move will happen though, as the Roma boss has insisted that his player has given him his word that he will not seek an exit from the Italian capital.

“Clearly we are penalised by Pjanic’s departure and the injury to Antonio Rudiger. Radja is a man of his word and he promised me he will stay,” he said live on Sky Sport Italia.

“I spoke to him and he seemed enthusiastic about continuing to give us his contribution next season.”

As a result, it looks as though Conte will finally have to admit defeat in his pursuit of the 28-year-old and look at alternatives in the market.

Meanwhile, having now seemingly sorted out his club future, Nainggolan’s more immediate focus will be on helping Belgium bounce back from their defeat in their Euro 2016 opener against Italy when they face the Republic of Ireland on Saturday.

The combative midfield ace would have been an important addition for Conte, but the Italian tactician will certainly have other targets in mind ahead of arriving at Stamford Bridge later this summer.

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