I want £50m Vidal in trenches with me, says Conte
THE intrigue was compelling. Not Chelsea’s Boxing Day dismantling of Brighton. That was wholly routine. But it was Antonio Conte’s post-match comments about Arturo Vidal that had the air of curiosity about them.
Spaniards Alvaro Morata and Marcos Alonso secured Chelsea’s win over a well- organised Brighton, but all the commotion after the game was about a Chilean.
When questioned about reports of his interest in Bayern Munich midfielder Vidal, the Chelsea manager played the ‘I don’t speak about players from other teams’ card.
But then came the twist, Conte simply couldn’t help himself.
‘I must be honest, it’s not right to talk about a player of another team,’ said the Italian. ‘Especially if you try to link this player with us. But Arturo is a fantastic player. I have a great respect for Arturo and we spent many years in Juventus together. If we go to war, I’d always want him with me.’
Out of nowhere, a curveball. Given Vidal is 30, there will certainly be opposition from within the Chelsea hierarchy towards a swoop for the £50millionrated South American. Their transfer policy is to target younger players approaching their peak.
Given the chance, though, Conte would love to have Vidal on board. Not that he needed him yesterday. After 45 minutes of monotony, Chelsea emerged victorious by keeping their heads.
What a bore this was until Morata planted his header past Mat Ryan to settle the anxiety at Stamford Bridge.
Alonso then notched with his own header to ensure Chelsea could breeze towards the final whistle.
In the end this was convincing from the champions. Though barring the most spectacular of capitulations from Manchester City, this win will prove inconsequential in the title race.
But credit to Chelsea, they aren’t gift-wrapping their trophy to City.
Conte said: ‘I think in this league there is a great motivation for all. To try to stay there and to fight until the end, I don’t know if it will win the title. It depends upon Manchester City. They are doing something extraordinary to win every game and draw only once up to now. But we want to work and improve.’
Despite the loss, Brighton left Stamford Bridge with their heads held high after frustrating Chelsea for long periods.
But Chris Hughton’s side could do with some inspiration in attack. Celtic’s prolific striker Moussa Dembele would certainly fit the bill.
But in response to suggestions Brighton have agreed an £18m deal with the Scottish giants, Hughton said: ‘As manager of this football club, I’m quite sure I’d know. There’s been no contact between the two clubs. That’s speculation.’
The first half was low- key, despite Cesc Fabregas’ best efforts to shake Chelsea out of their snoozy start.
The Spaniard was at the heart of their best moments during the opening 45 minutes. Not that it was much to write home about.
Tiemoue Bakayoko stabbed an instinctive shot wide from four yards after Antonio Rudiger headed Fabregas’s deep cross back across the face of goal. Ryan then saved Victor Moses’ angled volley after Fabregas’s chipped pass before the Spain midfielder saw his own effort from the edge of the box held by the Brighton keeper five minutes before the break.
For Chelsea, it was all very uninspiring. Even Conte wasn’t his super-charged self in the technical area. The only half-time consolation for the Italian was that his side’s performance, certainly from an attacking perspective, couldn’t get much worse.
And so it proved. It took Chelsea 45 seconds to take the lead after the restart. It was simple when it arrived: Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross expertly headed home by Morata. The tension eased. So did Conte’s frustrations as Chelsea quickly shifted into overdrive. Eden Hazard rifled wide from 20 yards before Ryan made a brilliant stop to keep out Alonso’s 30-yard free-kick.
The Brighton keeper was forced into another stop from the corner, again denying Alonso, this time from a bullet header.
But for Alonso, it was a case of third time lucky as he finally got on the scoresheet on the hour, glancing a header from Fabregas’s corner past Ryan to ensure Chelsea cantered to their fourth win in five games.