The Antonio Conte to Chelsea story is gaining momentum every day. The Italian manager is edging closer to becoming the next Chelsea head coach, and will take over in the summer after Guus Hiddink’s term ends.
Conte is currently the head coach for Italy but will step down after the Euros this summer. He has been rumoured to have identified several targets he wants to bring in the summer at Chelsea and one of them is Arturo Vidal.
Conte worked with the Chilean during his time at Juventus. He was all praise for the Bayern Munich man but admitted it was difficult to adjust him in the team in the beginning. “I’d take Vidal too. He’s an amazing player. I must admit at Juve I found him hard to fit in,” he told El Pais according to goal.com.
The manager explained how Juventus’ formation and tactics transformed around the box-to-box midfielder. “In my head I wanted to play a 4-2-4 and 4-4-2, but seeing the intensity of Vidal getting up and down the pitch I switched to a 4-3-3 which then transformed into 3-5-2.”
Vidal has been impressive for the German giants this season. He is a player with high work-rate and wonderful intelligence of the game. He has been a consistent performer for club and country over the last few years and is an asset any team.
The 28-year-old won the Scudetto in four consecutive seasons with Juventus. He also reached the final of the Champions league last season as Juventus lost 3-1 to Barcelona. Pep Guardiola identified the Copa America winner as an important piece in Bayern’s jigsaw and recruited him last summer.
Conte knows how good Vidal is and would want him any every team he’s in charge of. “He has extraordinary physical and technical attributes, if I get to coach him a little more it’d be fantastic. I want him in all my teams.”
Paul Pogba will not leave: Giuseppe Marotta
Juventus’ midfield powerhouse Paul Pogba has been linked with several clubs in the Premier League after his rise to stardom in the last few seasons. But Juventus’ chief Marotta has dashed hopes of Chelsea and Manchester United signing him after stating the club have no intention of selling their player.
“The Juventus jersey is something you honour right until the end. It is not a foregone conclusion yet that he will stay at Juventus, because nothing is ever guaranteed in football, but it is highly likely that he will stay put.” said the Director General.
