Antonio Conte: Davide Zappacosta is 'ready' to show Chelsea fans his quality

New surroundings | Davide Zappacosta has swapped Torino for Chelsea
Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Vaishali Bhardwaj8 September 2017

Antonio Conte believes Davide Zappacosta will quickly show Chelsea fans his quality because he possesses the right mentality to adapt to life in England.

Chelsea signed Zappacosta from Torino on transfer deadline day, with the 25-year-old's arrival giving Conte extra back-up for the wing-back position normally occupied by Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso.

Conte knows Zappacosta well - having handed the Italian his first international cap during his time managing the Azzurri.

And Conte is confident the defender will repay his faith in his abilities despite having the pressure of playing for the Premier League champions.

Speaking to reporters at Cobham on Friday, Conte said: "Davide is a good player, a young player and, for this reason, he has a lot of space to improve.

"He makes good runs during the game, has good quality. He's a wing-back and usually prefers to play on the right, but can play on the left. He is ready. You'll see, very soon, his performance.

"For Davide it's a great chance. He arrives in a great club. It's important to go into this club with the right mentality. It's not easy to play for a great club, above all when, previously, you didn't play (for one).

"But don't forget Torino are a good team with a great history, in the past. I know that, also, in Turin there is good pressure. But to play in another country, another type of football, it's not easy for him.

"But he has the right characteristics to adapt very soon."

Conte added: "Davide Zappacosta played the game against Israel with the national team and showed he's in good physical condition. He worked with me in the national team. He knows very well which is my style of football, which is my idea.

"For this reason, it's more simple for him to adapt himself to our style of football."

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