A twist in the tale of Conte’s new contract
Antonio Conte’s new contract came with a small but significant twist after a summer of friction at stamford Bridge. Conte pockets a pay rise as reward for an excellent debut season but there is no extension to his deal, which will still expire in 2019.
When the Premier League champions dispersed after defeat in the FA Cup final in May there was a four-year package on the table and virtually agreed, worth £9.5million a year and taking him to 2021.
Conte planned to take a short break to recharge before returning to London to sign. since then, things have not exactly gone to plan. Conte fumed remotely, with limited contact with anyone in an official capacity at the club, as Chelsea failed to close deals for top targets Romelu Lukaku and Virgil van Dijk.
Defender Leonardo Bonucci left Juventus but for Milan, not the Bridge. tiemoue Bakayoko did arrive from Monaco, eventually, after a long delay caused primarily by knee surgery at the end of last season and Chelsea’s understandable reluctance to agree to pay £40m until the midfielder was ready to have a medical.
A move for Juventus left back Alex sandro has stalled over the fee.
Chelsea, at the same time, were not enamoured with their manager’s decision to take matters into his own hands regarding Diego Costa. He sent a text message to last season’s top scorer informing him he was not part of the plans for the new season. Costa made it public and Chelsea were compromised in the market with their desperation laid bare.
Questions were asked privately about why Conte had felt the need to ostracise one of the world’s best centre forwards. Costa is popular with team-mates, a hero among fans, perfect for the Premier League and was prepared to discuss a new contract as recently as last autumn.
His personality clash with the manager presented Chelsea with the problem of securing a suitable replacement at a time when the going rate for proven strikers is speeding towards £100m and salaries to more than £250,000 a week.
Behind the scenes, there has been unrest about the creeping influence of Conte’s elder brother and business adviser, Daniele, and his unofficial agent, Federico Pastorello.
A considerable part of the initial contract negotiations was devoted to recruitment strategy. Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, and his closest advisers did not want to return to a situation where they were hostage to the manager and his favourite agent, as they once felt they were with Jose Mourinho and Jorge Mendes.
equally, the owner wanted to acknowledge Conte’s success and trust his judgment after a spectacular first season at the club.
the 47-year-old had won serie A three times as Juventus coach and performed well with italy but his first campaign in the Premier League launched him firmly into the top tier of world coaches.
After a poor start, he convincingly out-manoeuvred Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Arsene Wenger and Jurgen Klopp — four celebrated managers on greater pay — to win the title, ripping up Chelsea’s long-standing tactical blueprint to impose his own brand of football.
the success of his back-three system made a seismic impact. even Wenger has since embraced it for his Arsenal side and plenty of others were dabbling in it by the end of last season.
Part of Conte’s style involves an undertow of creative tension. though popular and friendly around the training base, he is demanding. three years in charge at Juve restored the club to the top of italian football but each transfer window was defined by internal struggles about recruitment. Conte thought his efforts deserved greater financial support in the market.
they failed to buy striker Gonzalo Higuain from Real Madrid or Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentina when he thought both were achievable targets. in the end, Conte quit Juve for the italy job and he will walk into another top job when he leaves Chelsea. His capability to walk out on a point of principle resurfaced as transfer targets started to slide away.
Again, Chelsea were not impressed and noted that the suggestions he might quit had filtered out of italy. in the modern era, when transfer fees and contracts are worth many millions, clubs simply cannot afford to surrender to the manager’s every whim without considering factors such as the age of the player and an escape plan if the move goes awry.
Chelsea have learned this lesson the hard way having been stung by Andriy shevchenko and Fernando torres, record signings gone wrong, and lumbered with plenty of ageing players on incredible contracts who proved hard to sell.
they do not get everything right but they have sold well in recent transfer markets. this summer, they banked £10m for back-up goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and replaced him with Willy Caballero, signed on a free.
At the same time, it is important to appreciate Conte knows better than anyone else at stamford Bridge how his team operate and which players will improve the side. A middle ground was sought and seems to have been found.
Chelsea yielded to Conte’s desire to appoint two more italian coaches to his staff after the departure of steve Holland to take up a role with england. And, despite missing out on Lukaku and, seemingly, Van Dijk, they have invested more than £70m to sign Bakayoko and toni Rudiger and will spend more to strengthen the squad before the window shuts at the end of next month. Conte, for his part, will not coast. He will devote all his energy to defending the title and competing in the Champions League.
once the market closes, his focus will be purely on the players at his disposal.
Chelsea will hope to see his wife and daughter move to London and put down the roots of a family home as proof of his long-term intentions. Yet inter Milan wanted him two months ago and others will see the two-year contract as an opportunity to prise him away at the end of next season.
that deal, announced as Chelsea were about to depart for their three-match tour of China and singapore, is an uneasy compromise.
it is a commitment from Conte which appears to rule out the threat he might flounce out. it is confirmation the board appreciate his work.
it is also a sign all is not quite as serene as it might be at a club who never seem to be entirely at peace with themselves, even in the best of times.