Conte: I fear the axe now
The Italian was left with plenty of trouble on his plate after Chelsea finished their tour of Asia with another defeat here yesterday.
The Blues manager has so far spent £130million in this summer’s transfer market.
But he has flown home concerned that with a fortnight to go before the new season starts, the club have not yet landed all of his targets.
While l ast weekend’s easy Beijing win over Arsenal inspired optimism, defeat by Bayern Munich as well as Inter this week has left Conte sending an SOS to the Chelsea board.
Jose Mourinho was sacked in December 2015 – eight months after winning the title – when his summer transfer targets failed to materialise at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea went on to finish out of the Champions League and out of Europe.
Tough
Claudio Ranieri was axed by Leicester in February this year, less than 12 months after leading the Foxes to a miraculous title success.
As Chelsea continue to chase Juventus wing- back Alex Sandro (above), Bayern midfielder Renato Sanches and Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Conte admitted: “We know the next season will be tough.
“We want to avoid what happened in the previous season for Chelsea, a couple of years ago, when the team finished in 10th place in the Premier League.
“I want things to be different from what happened two seasons ago.
“Two coaches have been sacked from Chelsea and Leicester after winning the League. I don’t want this to happen and the players don’t want the bad season they had with Mourinho.
“We are working very well and we hope to find the best solution in the future.”
Chelsea’s new signing, £58m striker Alvaro Morata, played 64 minutes in the defeat to Inter but it was the Italian side’s Geoffrey Kondogbia who inadvertently stole the show by lobbing his own keeper from 40 yards out.
Conte’s men tackle Arsenal in the Community Shield next Sunday having lost John Terry as well as young defender Nathan Ake and England Under-21 midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah.
Another midfielder, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, is on loan at Crystal Palace while Kurt Zouma has been shipped out to Stoke for the season. It has left Conte desperately short on numbers and quality going into the new campaign.
Chelsea retain an interest in Everton pair Ross Barkley and Tom Davies while Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk is another on their list.
Asked about the club’s progress in their search for new players, Conte said: “We have to continue to work. It doesn’t change.” ARSENE WENGER wanted Arsenal to make a statement to sick-boy Alexis Sanchez.
But it wasn’t so much a case of ‘Get well soon’ but rather ‘We don’t need you anymore’ as the slick Gunners cranked up their pre-season preparations.
The Chilean star posted a picture of himself on social media wearing a big scarf and a forlorn face, saying he was ill. The striker has thrown his