Antonio Conte has defended his record of failing to give Chelsea’s band of youngsters a chance to impress in the first team, claiming today’s generation lack patience.
The Italian masterminded the Blues’ title-winning campaign last season but did so largely with the bulk of the squad which won the Premier League in 2014/15, offering only fleeting opportunities to the likes of Nathan Ake, Nathaniel Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
All three have been discarded by Conte ahead of the new season but the former Juventus boss hinted his former charges have been poorly advised.
‘Sometimes I think the young players lose their patience very quickly,’ said Conte.
TRANSFERS IN
Willy Caballero (free, from Manchester City), Antonio Rudiger (£34m, from Roma), Tiemoue Bakayoko (£40m, from Monaco), Alvaro Morata (£60m, from Real Madrid)
TRANSFERS OUT
Juan Cuadrado (£17m, to Juventus), Christian Atsu (£6.2m, to Newcastle), Dominic Solanke (Compensation, to Liverpool), Asmir Begovic (£10m, to Bournemouth), Alex Kiwomya (free, to Doncaster), Bertrand Traore (£8.8m, to Lyon), Nathan Ake (£20m, to Bournemouth), John Terry (free, to Aston Villa), Tammy Abraham (loan, to Swansea), Alex Davey (released), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (loan, to Crystal Palace), Nathaniel Chalobah (£5m, to Watford)
‘A lot of the time because of parents or the people around them. I think the advisers aren’t right.
‘The first thing they should have is good patience. Trust the club. Then work very hard to know that to play at this level you must be stronger – and very good.
‘Sometimes, young players think they can play easily in the first team, but that’s not true. I have to pick 11 players. Not only me, every coach.’
MORE : Chelsea signing Tiemoue Bakayoko is better than Nathaniel Chalobah, insists Antonio Conte
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