11 DAYS TO SAVE CONTE?
Chelsea manager faces race against time to shore up his weakened squad Llorente and Rose are Italian’s leading targets as the pressure mounts
ANTONIO CONTE uses laughter disarmingly well. On Friday he broke into a manic and threatening giggle when Diego Costa’s comments about being treated like a criminal were put to him.
But a month ago, sat in Beijing’s Intercontinental Hotel, having just signed his new two-year contract and insisting he would stay for longer, his mirth was of a lessintimidating kind.
He was discussing John Terry’s ambitions to manage, endorsing his ex-player’s capabilities. He was asked if he thought Terry might one day be Chelsea manager. After all, it was suggested, there would probably be a vacancy in two years’ time.
Conte eyed the speaker and broke into one of those broad smiles. ‘Thank you!’ he said with a grin. ‘You have confidence in my quality!’
All seemed sweetness and light then, when you could joke about the end of the relationship between club and Conte. But that was before Nemanja Matic was sold and just after Alvaro Morata was purchased. There have been no additions since. On current trajectory Chelsea look likely to break even in the transfer window, which would please the Financial Fair Play accountants. There are still 11 days to go, of course; 11 crucial days for Conte and his future at Chelsea.
Conte believes he should be trusted by Roman Abramovich to rebuild the club. Technical director Michael Emenalo and Marina Granovskaia, the most important director, might take issue with that interpretation of affairs.
But Conte was in earnest on Friday when, having killed Costa with laughter, he went on to say that he needed four years to build a club that could compete with the best in the world. To his mind, he just about got away with it last season. A team who have lost Petr Cech, Frank Lampard, Terry, Didier Drogba and Branislav Ivanovic need huge remodelling, certainly more than a year or two and an unexpected title win can provide.
When it was put to Conte that only one Chelsea manager, Claudio Ranieri, has managed four years at the club since John Neal achieved that feat between 1981-85, three seasons of which were in the old Second Division, Conte applied his broadest smile.
‘I want to break this bad record,’ he said. ‘When you start a job at a new club, I hope to stay in this club for many years.’
He even talked of taking Chelsea into a new stadium, which would be 2021 at the earliest. ‘Why not?’ he said. ‘It could be a fantastic challenge for me and also for the club, to stay together and also to play with this team in a new stadium. Honestly, the new stadium will be great.’
That would take him into the territory of Ted Drake, Tommy Docherty and Dave Sexton in terms of longest-serving managers. And into fantasy land. For experienced viewers of the Chelsea boxset, we are now in Series 15 and they have long been recycling the best plot lines.
This is the one where the manager tries to force the hand of the owner; and we know how it ends.
The underlying themes are familiar. Abramovich wants academy players to thrive but given he never lets a manager stay long enough to see through a generation, it is not unreasonable that they do not take him at his word.
Hence the departure of Nathaniel Chalobah at the same time that Danny Drinkwater is being pursued for £20million.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fernando Llorente remain on the agenda but Arsenal will not give way on the former. Given the way Michy Batshuayi played for an hour last weekend, Llorente is as important a signing as ever. Batshuayi, the biggest signing of last summer at £32.5m, is unable to deliver what Conte requires.
The perennial itch, though, has been to provide additional wingbacks. Superb though Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso were last season, to thrive in Europe they will need better players or, at least, more cover.
The prospect of Juventus’ Alex Sandro coming has diminished. Conte has looked on enviously as Pep Guardiola has hoovered up the continent’s supply of attacking full-backs. Danny Rose is the preferred choice but extremely tricky to deliver.
For Granovskaia and Emenalo there are still significant issues to address, including Costa.
For Conte, though, he would be best advised to knuckle down for the next four months and hope for the best.