JOSE: NO SYMPATHY FOR BLUES

FROM BACK PAGE lost an important midfield player (Nemanja Matic, who was sold to United for £40million). If you lose one but you buy Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater, for example, what’s the problem?

“The problem is when you sell and you don’t buy. When you sell and you keep buying, what’s the problem?”

Chelsea signed Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco for £40m and believe a £25m move for Leicester’s Drinkwater is imminent.

In his assessment of Conte’s squad, the Reds boss added: “You’re probably even stronger, so I think every top team in the Premier League is strong enough, is potentially strong enough, with the financial situation to be fighting for everything.

“And when everybody is also in Europe, five in the Champions League and then two in the Europa League, you have the top seven teams playing for everything and all of them are strong.

“If they (United’s rivals) have problems, the problems are going to finish in a couple of weeks, because in a couple of weeks, the market is closed and they don’t have problems any more.”

Conte and Mourinho have history. They clashed on the touchline at Stamford Bridge last season (below) when the United boss accused Conte of over-celebrating victory.

Mourinho added to Conte’s summer woes by snatching £75m striker Romelu Lukaku from Everton, when Chelsea were confident the Belgium star would rejoin them.

But the man who guided the Blues to three league titles insisted Conte’s beleagured squad remain favourites to retain the title.

He said: “For me, the favourite is the champion – always. It is for some reason they were the champions.”

Conte (above) has laughed off Diego Costa’s claims he has been treated like “a criminal”. The Chelsea boss said: “It’s great. I prefer to laugh! I’m not interested to continue this issue. I repeat, for me, it is in the past.

“Everyone in Chelsea knows very well what happened last season with Diego. It’s funny this

interview.”