Conte highlights failed Nainggolan bid as he bemoans Chelsea’s ‘thin’ squad
Manager struggling to cope with injury list Morata return a boost for clash with Roma
There was a sense of symmetry in the fact Antonio Conte was asked about Chelsea’s failed pursuit of Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan in between his complaints that his squad was too “thin” to cope with injuries.
Conte is once again making no secret of his frustration over Chelsea’s failure to add more players to the squad who won last season’s Premier League, as they attempt tonight to bounce back from two successive defeats, against Roma in the Champions League.
Alvaro Morata will return to lead the attack, but Conte is without N’golo Kante, Victor Moses and Danny Drinkwater, and may deploy David Luiz as an extra midfielder.
But the realisation for Conte that this is a very different Chelsea from the one he perhaps hoped he might be taking charge of actually arrived last summer, when a meeting with Nainggolan proved to be a wasted dinner bill.
Prior to formally starting work at Chelsea and Euro 2016, which was his swansong as Italy’s national coach, Conte met Nainggolan at the Grand Hotel in Rome with the express intention of making the midfielder his first signing.
“In the past, yes, we tried to buy him,” confirmed Conte. “But now Nainggolan is Roma’s player and I have great respect for him and for Roma. For me, he is one of the best midfielders. But he’s an opponent.”
Conte hoped signing Nainggolan would be straightforward, given Roma have to sell one of their best players each season and the money available at Chelsea. But Conte had not been prepared for the fact Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia likes to drive a hard bargain, and they failed with bids of £23million and £25million.
Chelsea were also surprised to learn that the £100,000 a week they offered was not significantly more than the Belgian was earning. Nainggolan was happy at a club where his cigarette smoking and busy nightlife is tolerated, and that again proved to be the case when
Manchester United failed with their own bid to sign the 29-year-old this summer. Conte believes that, despite the fact Chelsea have made a number of signings since his arrival, all the misses have left him short.
“The situation is difficult,” said Conte. “We have to play every three days and it’s not simple. In this moment, we are thin and we have to play always the same players. Honestly, there is this type of risk to have other injuries. I hope not.”
Morata, Kante and Moses have all suffered hamstring injuries in recent weeks, and Conte added: “We have players in our team who are not used to playing three games in a week. Kante, it’s the first time. For Moses, the first time. For Morata, it’s the first time to play regularly for his team. For Marcos Alonso, it’s the same. When you have a lot of games, you need to rotate. If this is not possible, I have to take risks.
“I could have taken risks on Saturday [in the defeat by Crystal Palace] and forced Morata to play, but I’m not so stupid. You have to make the best decision and, for sure, I’m not taking a risk if I decide Morata can play on Wednesday night.”