The Chelsea fans here in the Transfer Tavern are hoping the board get it right in this window. While things have gone a tad quiet on the crisis front for the Blues in our bar of late, everybody here knows that those in SW6 are just one big story from turmoil behind the scenes.
During the last transfer window, Conte didn’t have the best of times come the end of it, and our long-suffering Chelsea fans felt he cut a very frustrated figure by missing out on some key targets. Indeed, this left Chelsea very thin on the ground during their injury-laden time at the start of the Premier League.
Again the transfer window is turning out a similar story for the Italian, with the Chelsea board holding back on the signing of Juventus left-back Alex Sandro due to the size of the reported £60m transfer fee the Old Lady are demanding for the player.
Can Conte really go through another window without bringing in wholesale reinforcements?
According to our punters, they can’t. Despite already signing Ross Barkley early on within the first week, Conte will surely be looking to bring in at least two to three players in key areas of the pitch.
Our landlord takes a look at two reasons why Conte should feel he’s been let down by Abramovich…
Backing of the Board
By not bringing in the players Conte wants once again, shows a serious lack of backing by the Chelsea board to a manager that handed them the league title within his first season in charge.
Conte needs to relieve ever-present left back of some first-team duties in the coming months, as the fullback has no real back up to allow him to rest. With Chelsea looking to fight on every front still, strength in depth is important and not pushing the deal over the line shows a lack of commitment to the manager.
Lack of Ambition
While Conte is still in the fight for all four trophies, however unlikely it may be, he will want to be backed financially in the transfer market when the right move comes along. Many of the fans in the pub have long talked about adding players of quality to the existing first team to aid with rest and keep things fresh when it’s needed.
By not bringing in Sandro, in an inflated market, would show Conte that the board are not looking at going for silverware, yet simply looking to balance the books.
