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What's the story?
Chelsea missed out on signing Everton midfielder Ross Barkley in slightly farcical circumstances on a frantic deadline day for the Blues when he decided to stay back at Everton to continue his rehabilitation as he recovers from a hamstring tear.
After those reports about him walking out of the medical at Cobham were rubbished, the Times has explained why the English playmaker rejected Chelsea - he had asked to speak to Antonio Conte before the move to seek clarifications on the role he would play for the defending champions this season, after Everton accepted a £35 million bid from the Blues, but Chelsea decided not to allow their head coach to speak to their target.
In case you didn't know
The reason the Chelsea board took such a drastic step was to ensure that what happened with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain doesn't repeat itself. Conte had spoken to the then-Arsenal player about his plans for the Englishman and had told him that he (Chamberlain) would be competing with Victor Moses for the position right wing-back.
Seeing as the main reason Chamberlain wanted to leave Arsenal was because Arsene Wenger kept playing him at wing-back, it seemed less than a prudent move - and when Jurgen Klopp assured the Englishman that he'd give him chances in central midfield the choice was made for him.
The heart of the matter
In a bid to avoid such a "faux-pas", Chelsea's technical director Michael Emenalo and a director Marina Granovskaia were then made the lone contact points for any transfer targets on deadline - it is understood that Conte was not allowed to speak to even Danny Drinkwater.
Chelsea have, of course, been careful not to blame their head coach in way for not getting Chamberlain, but surely this decision to keep him away from his target on Deadline Day will not help an already strained relationship between coach and board.
What's next?
The club's official position is that they respect Barkley's decision to take time to recuperate from injury - no mention of the oversight of not allowing to speak to the gaffer has been made.
The Blues expect to go back for him in the January window but will face competition from Tottenham Hotspur.
Author's Take
Antonio Conte has been careful to outline to the press in recent times that he is Chelsea's head coach and not it's manager... the distinction is subtle, but is a major part of the reason Conte is not too very happy with his role at the club.
What transpired during Deadline Day is unlikely to help matters and it will be interesting to see if this has a tangible effect on Chelsea's on-field performance this season
