Chelsea FC appointed Antonio Conte as the new permanent manager to replace Interim boss Guus Hiddink this spring. Earlier this month, Conte said a very emotional goodbye to the Italian National Team, which he led for the previous two years. So now, as he takes the reigns at Chelsea, what will Conte do to revamp the team?
What will his makeover of the Blues entail?
Antonio Conte sees inspiration in the reigning Premier League champions Leicester City.
“Now, some people can think that Chelsea are not favourites for the title and I think that they can be right after last season,” Conte said.
“Also, you see that we have signed only Batshuayi. But we are ready.”
“We are talking with the club and we know that this club — the team — needs to reinforce. I am sure that in the coming days we can reach our target to reinforce the team to go closer to the other teams that now seem to stay higher in the table compared to Chelsea.”
“Leicester City must give us a great example. You can have the best talent, the best champion [players], but you must also have a good spirit in your team, a team with good organisation and good players. If you have all of those things, you can win. You can reach your target. I am sure about this.”
“And in the coming days, we can buy one, two, three players. Players that can reinforce us for the season as it will be very, very tough.”
“History says that in the [Roman] Abramovich era, Chelsea are always in the Champions League, and it is important to get back very soon, to fight for the title, to be there at the end of the season.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication.