Nemanja Matic has been strongly linked with a move to Manchester United (Picture: Getty)

Antonio Conte admits he has been left in the dark over Nemanja Matic’s impending move to Manchester United.

The Chelsea manager left the double Premier League winning midfielder out of his squad for the recent pre-season tour of the Far East and America, prompting speculation Matic would complete a move away from Stamford Bridge.

Tiemoue Bakayoko’s arrival from Monaco appears to have rendered Matic surplus to Conte’s requirements. Both United and Juventus have been heavily linked with the former Benfica midfielder but a move has yet to materialise.

After Chelsea completed their tour of the States with a 2-1 defeat against Inter, Conte was asked for an update on Matic’s situation and could muster only the following response, ‘I don’t know nothing about this. You have to ask the club.’

Chelsea were beaten 2-1 by Inter on Saturday (Picture: Getty)

Earlier this week, Conte had explained the rationale behind leaving Matic behind in west London, saying: ‘The coach must be in total control of the dressing room otherwise there is anarchy.

‘If you lose control, anything can happen and probably you will be sacked in one or two months. If you are lucky three months.

‘It is more difficult. When I was a footballer, the club had more power. If you give education and respect, you must demand education and respect. It is logical that when you must be tough, you must be tough.

‘Then it is right when you have 22 players, it is right to have the same behaviour with all the players – not because one is young and they are different. That is not good.

Antonio Conte has told Diego Costa he is no longer part of Chelsea’s plans. (Getty Images)

‘If a player makes a mistake, a young player or an old player, you must underline it and help improve the player to help avoid the mistake in the future.

‘Otherwise, if I go and am very strict only with the young player and not the old players, it is not the right way to have respect from the dressing room.

‘The players are at the same level and sometimes I demand more from the old players than the young players – they have more experience to teach the young players the right behaviour.’

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