Frustrated Antonio Conte admits he has little impact on Chelsea transfers

Vaishali Bhardwaj25 January 2018

Antonio Conte has for the first time admitted he has very little influence on which players the Chelsea board sign.

The Premier League champions have only brought in Ross Barkley from Everton during this transfer window, with Conte believed to be desperate on recruiting a left-back to provide back-up for Marcos Alonso and a striker to provide cover for Alvaro Morata, who is currently out injured.

Indeed, Chelsea are thought to have asked Roma for full-back Emerson Palmieri and forward Edin Dzeko - with the Italian side putting a £44m price tag, plus another £13.2m depending on various criteria, on the duo's heads.

But, on Wednesday, Roma's sporting director Monchi insisted that Chelsea's offer for Dzeko, in particular, hadn't been good enough to tempt the club into selling him yet, saying: "We are ready to listen and then we decide.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Arsenal | EFL Cup semi-final

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"Now Dzeko is here and the rest doesn't matter, which means what we've received so far wasn't acceptable.

"I don't know what personal terms were offered to the player, as I am not his agent. I am talking about Roma - an offer arrives, we look at it and then decide."

And as Dzeko was netting a last-gasp equaliser for Roma against Sampdoria, Conte's Chelsea side were knocked out of the EFL Cup by London rivals Arsenal - with the Blues struggling for creativity and the all-important goal in the second half that they needed to go through to the final.

After the 2-1 defeat, Conte admitted Chelsea must not make a knee-jerk reaction to recruiting players based on the League Cup exit but conceded that the board are the ones who ultimately decides who arrives and who doesn't.

AFP/Getty Images

Speaking to reporters at the Emirates Stadium, Conte said: "It's not right to take that decision based on one game. There is a programme and a plan.

"It's wrong if we have to make a decision [in the transfer market] based only on one game. I repeat: I continue to work, and am happy to work with my players.

"This decision is from the summer, not now. Sometimes, I can have an impact on transfers, sometimes you can't. My first task is to do my job and be a coach.

"For sure, I don't have a big impact on the transfer market."

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