Antonio Conte has hit out at the Chelsea board for their failure to secure his top transfer targets. The Italian manager was left frustrated after watching the club’s record purchase Alvaro Morata miss a couple of gilt-edged chances in Wednesday’s riveting 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Morata, 25, was signed from Real Madrid in a £58million deal but only after the Blues had lost Romelu Lukaku, Conte’s first choice, to Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United.
The Premier League champions also missed out on a host of targets such as Danilo, Alex Sandro, Thomas Lemar, Fernando Llorente and Dani Alves in a frustrating summer transfer window, which also saw Everton midfielder Ross Barkley change his mind at the last minute of the transfer.
“I do not aim high with my requests, especially as in my history I’ve rarely been given the players I asked for,” Conte told Sky Italia, as reported by Metro.
“I always ended up at clubs who were running an austerity programme. I just try to do my work. If someone arrives, good, if they don’t, then that’s fine too. I have to continue my work, either way.”
Despite the Italian manager calling out for more signings at the club following a disappointing summer transfer window, Conte earlier claimed that he does not play a major role in the club’s transfer negotiations. The 48-year-old said he advised the club’s hierarchy, but nothing more.
“I think that we must be ready for all and to work on the pitch and also to work on the transfer market but you have to understand what your role is in the club, I’m very focused on the pitch to try to improve my players and the transfer market is for the club,” Conte was quoted in a report by Goal.
“I trust in my club and I’m sure they will take the best decision for the team. In this case, when I tell that I give my opinion to the club, I try to tell where are the roles we can improve also on the numerical aspect because in some roles we don’t have a couple of players.
“Or there is a young player that is not ready to play with the first team. If the club asks me some names I try to do this but then it’s the club, it’s the club that decides the name, the investment, which is the best player for the team.”
Do you think Conte is right in asking the board to spend more on strengthening the squad?