Chelsea transfer news: Maurizio Sarri refuses to rule out Alvaro Morata sale

The 25-year-old has been linked with a move away just a year on from his club record £60m arrival from Real Madrid.

He made a blistering start to his Stamford Bridge career but struggled to maintain his goalscoring form and soon fell out of favour with then boss Antonio Conte.

Sarri has taken the reins this summer following Conte’s departure but admits keeping the Spanish striker is not a priority.

“Morata? We want to keep our best players but not at all costs,” he said.

“We want to keep our top players but only if they want to be here.

“We can try to convince some players but let’s see how it goes. We want to keep improving.”

Chelsea opened their International Champions Cup campaign with a penalty shoot-out victory over Inter Milan in Nice.

The sides were level at 1-1 after 90 minutes and Willy Caballero proved the hero for Sarri’s men in the shoot-out, saving Milan Skriniar’s fourth penalty for Inter.

That gave Cesar Azpilicueta the opportunity to win it for Chelsea, with the Blues boasting a perfect record from the spot.

Pedro gave Chelsea the lead in the eighth minute, following up after Morata saw his shot saved.

But a slow start to the second half from Chelsea allowed Inter to equalise in the 49th minute through Roberto Gagliardini.

The Blues twice went close to winning it in normal time through Jorginho and Tammy Abraham while Caballero, who might have done better with Gagliardini’s goal, produced a fine save to deny Lautaro Martinez.

The only real concern for Sarri after an encouraging workout was a late knock picked up by defender Andreas Christensen.

Chelsea now move on to Dublin, where they will face Arsenal on Wednesday.