It might not be Christmas yet, but Roman Abramovich is ready to don the red suit and fulfil the wish list of Antonio Conte if results don’t improve at the London club. Even though the coach has changed some of the problems which were evident last season, recent results in the Premier League have brought to surface many of the deep-lying problems. At the time of Mourinho’s sacking, the owner had put faith in the players to pull up their socks and better their league status.
Now, though it seems the problems run deep with most of the playing personnel not being up to the mark. As a result, the owner has decided to loosen his purse strings. The familiar failings were evident against Liverpool and Arsenal which ailed them last season. Despite the arrivals of players such as Marcos Alonso and Batshuayi, Chelsea has lacked the players to match their rivals.
Chelsea finished 10th last term, the worst finish since the Russian took over and now there are reports in the British press, that players such as Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann and Roma defender Antonio Rüdiger could be pursued in order to freshen up the squad.
With defender, Ivanovic and Cahill, committing mistakes on a regular frequency, Conte is set for a defensive clearout as well. Earlier in the summer, Conte had expressed interest in Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci and Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli who are both Italian centre backs. Further first choice targets such as Radja Nainggolan of AS Roma also could arrive at Stamford Bridge.
Summer overhaul only
The catch though is that Conte might have to make do with the current squad this season, as per a report by Matt Law from the Telegraph, which would indeed make the Italian’s job a wee bit harder. Chelsea had started the season strongly before a draw against Swansea and defeats against title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool has seen them slip down to 8th in the table.
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Murmurs are already abound at Stamford Bridge that Conte is unhappy with the trio of defenders at his disposal i.e. Cahill, Ivanovic and Luiz as per reports in the Sun. However, the Brazilian can consider himself a bit unlucky as he has played only two games. His performance against Liverpool was decent but his marking against Arsenal was a cause of concern.
The Italian, who is known for his reputation of creating well-drilled teams hasn’t been impressed with the current display and knows that results like last Saturday will only deteriorate his reputation. However, he will hope to have the winning feeling back in the dressing room as Chelsea take on Hull City in an away fixture on Saturday.
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