Chelsea boss Antonio Conte says he respects Carlos Tevez's decision to remain in Argentina

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has played down speculation linking the club with a move for Boca Juniors forward Carlos Tevez.

The former West Ham United, Manchester United and Manchester City star left the Premier League in 2013, spending the next two seasons playing for Juventus where won two Serie A titles and a Coppa Italia.

At just 31, he left Europe to rejoin Boca, where he started his career, but according to the Argentina international, Napoli and Chelsea are keen to bring him back this summer.

He told Corriere dello Sport. "Indeed my idea, my dream is to finish my career as a player in this wonderful club. Europe? Yes, it's true Napoli and Chelsea seek me, but I repeat what I said before. My desire is to stay at Boca until I retire."

Speaking after Chelsea's pre-season friendly victory over Liverpool on Thursday (28 July), Conte praised the Argentina international but insisted he respected his former player's decision to see out the remainder of his career in his homeland.

"Carlos was my player when I was coach at Juventus," Conte said in a Sky Sports report. "We had a fantastic season I appreciated [him] a lot, as a player and like a man. But I know he is a player of Boca and he did a lot to go back in Argentina last season and I wish him and for his family the best."

Chelsea have already added a striker to their ranks in Belgium international Michy Batshuayi but speculation continues to mount over the future of Diego Costa. The Spain international did not feature in the match-day squad against Liverpool and a cryptic Instagram post suggested he was saying goodbye to his Blues teammates.

Spanish newspaper AS also claim Costa has reached out to Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone with hopes of securing a move back to the Vicente Calderon this summer.

In addition to Batshuayi, Chelsea have also signed N'Golo Kante from Leicester City.