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Often deemed the best Serie A manager of the past decade, owing to his hand in Juventus winning four Scuddeto straight, Antonio Conte’s arrival at Stamford Bridge has raised fans’ expectations.
So what does Conte exactly bring to the English football and can he return Chelsea to the top of the Premier League?
Though many believe he will be a success at the Bridge, there is a polar disparity between Conte’s hard-master approach and the degree of flexibilty with which Chelsea teams in the Roman Abrahmovic era generally play.
Guus Hiddink’s premature success in both 2009 and this season has a lot to do with this calm demeanour, which offers full leeway to players.
Can the Chelsea players buy into Conte’s rugged and calculative approach?
In terms of personnel, Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard and Deigo Costa seem to be heading off this summer, and Conte is hell-bent on bringing Inter Milan’s Samir Handanovic in, with around $8 million dollars spent from the purse. After Nemanja Matic’s poor run of form in the tail-end of the season, Roma midfielder Rajda Nalnggolan is set to join the Blues.
However the biggest name on Conte’s wishlist is Aturo Vidal, from Bayern Munich, who played four years under Conte and has immense esteem for the Italian maestro.
If this transfer spree is successful, Chelsea will have an Italian flavour. But is it enough to win the league?
Jose Mourinho is the most likely candidate to replace Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford, and Pep Guardiola is en route to the other side of Manchester. Leicester won’t replicate this year’s success, but the likes of West Ham and Southampton pose a serious challenge. And Tottenham look set to invest more and hang onto Harry Kane, having qualified for the Champions League main draw for the first time in the last half a deacde.
Conte is definitely a big name, but whether he can deliver remains to be seen.
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