Antonio Conte's reasons for snubbing Eden Hazard after Tottenham offer

Antonio Conte has told Daniel Levy to prioritise a move to bring Gareth Bale back to Tottenham - rather than signing Eden Hazard.

The fiery Italian replaced Nuno Espirito Santo as Spurs boss last week and already has one eye on the January transfer window.

According to reports Conte will look to sign at least three players at the turn of the year, with a centre-back, midfielder and forward all on the agenda.

Levy is also willing to back his new boss after finally landing the former Chelsea manager at the second time of asking.

Spanish news outlet El Chiringuito via Metro Sport claim the Spurs chairman is keen to bring Hazard back to the Premier League and reunite him with the coach that helped Chelsea to the title in 2017.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Will Conte win a trophy during his time as Chelsea boss? Let us know in the comments

However, Conte is said to have made it clear that if they are to sign a Real Madrid forward, he would rather get Bale.

The Welshman spent last season on loan in north London, scoring 16 times in all competitions.

He then returned to the Spanish capital with hopes of breaking into Carlo Ancelotti's starting XI at the Bernabeu, but after the first three games of Los Blancos' LaLiga campaign, he has been sidelined with a knee injury.

Bale will be a free agent at the end of the season, but El Chiringuito claim Conte would prefer him over Hazard, due to long standing concerns about the latter's intensity and work rate.

Hazard has endured a miserable time with Madrid since sealing an £88.5million move from Chelsea in 2019.

Newcastle have also been linked with a move for the 30-year-old and Ancelotti has indicated he would be open to selling him, should the right offer come in.

As well as Conte holding reservations over linking back up with Hazard, previous comments from the Belgian suggest he would also be reluctant.

Speaking about playing under Zinedine Zidane shortly after signing for Madrid, Hazard pointed to how Italian coaches would rarely allow him to train with the ball at his feet.

"In training, we are always using the ball... there's movement and mini-matches," he told Sport Magazine last year.

"When you meet Italian coaches like I did, you are less happy. They are more rigid and repetitive.

"You find pleasure in victory. I spent three years with Italian coaches so to rediscover this pleasure again makes me happy."

Did Man Utd make a major mistake in not hiring Conte? Have your say below

Despite reports suggesting Levy and Conte are already in discussion over transfers, sporting director Fabio Paratici warned fans that he had held no such talks.

"Not at all," he said when asked if he had held any chats with Conte over transfers. "Because we trust a lot in our players. We are focused to be better, like a club, like a team.

"We haven't spoken about [new] players, we have to be focused on our team and then we will see. I think the team is competitive, we trust in the players, we have very good players so we don't speak about [new] players now. It is not the right time."