In the coming days, Antonio Conte will officially become Chelsea’s new head coach after guiding Italy to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 and there is an air of optimism among Blues supporters.
Conte’s arrival will spark the beginning of what is being considered as a ‘new era’ at Stamford Bridge as the club look to move on from Jose Mourinho’s second tenure at the club.
The new era has already brought in new faces in the form of Michy Batshuayi and it will also present new challenges. Chelsea head into the new Premier League season as underdogs in the title race. The arrival of Pep Guardiola and Mourinho at both the Manchester clubs has caught the attention of the world’s media and the bookies who have backed them as the two favourites for next season’s title.
Being the underdog is something the Blues haven’t experienced in a number of years, they came so close to the Premier League title in Mourinho’s first season back at the club, lifted the trophy the following year and where defending champions in the season just finished, expectations have always been high in the club’s recent history.
The arrival of the two managerial powerhouses in Manchester has overshadowed Conte’s imminent takeover at Chelsea, that and his duties with the Italian national team has left little to be reported on the Blues front.
Chelsea have slipped under the radar, and that may not be the worst thing to happen to the Blues this summer. The club have kept themselves quiet over the summer, out of respect for Conte’s deeds with the Italian side as they work on transfers behind the scenes.
When hiring Conte, Chelsea officials knew what they were getting themselves into. A manager that wasn’t going to be around as soon as other possible appointments, someone they weren’t going to be able to shout to the heavens about because he’s still in a job, but it seems to have turned out for the best.
Conte has shown his ability as a coach during the Euros and eased the worries of some supporters who raised questions about the latest appointment from the club.
The Italian calmed some nerves by taking his squad, which talent wise, was from the squad that lifted the World Cup in 2006. Looking depleted after injuries to key players like Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti. Conte utilised an injury-hampered squad to the best of his ability, implanting a system that brought the best out of his players who were all willing to run through walls for the incoming Chelsea boss.
His showing at this summer’s competition will bode well with his new side not featuring in European football next season. Whilst Chelsea and Conte will obviously want to compete at the highest level and hope for a swift return to the competition, more time on the training ground with his players, working on his systems and getting the players to buy into his work ethic could be crucial to any success the Blues could have next season.
Plus, the free calendar space will also make any potential success in cup competitions that little bit easier, as well as not having to worry about any of those tricky away fixtures in European late in the season if the club do find themselves competing in the title race.
Conte will need to use his time on the training ground wisely. His arrival has risen speculation that Chelsea could implement his famous 3-5-2 formation that achieved great success at Juventus and was widely used during the European Championships.
The formation has had varied degrees of success in the Premier League, Louis van Gaal tried to implement it after success at national team level with not much to write home about. However, there is one element of the formation that will stick out and appeal to Chelsea fans, two strikers.
Over the past decade, Chelsea supporters have witnessed variations of 4-3-3 and 4-3-2-1, both of which playing just one striker. Apart from a brief period of a Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba partnership, it’s been a while since we’ve seen two strikers at Stamford Bridge.
The lack of two-striker formations is something that rings true throughout the Premier League with managers seemingly too scared to take the risk. Teams are more prepared to pack out their midfield with the aim of stopping an opponent before worrying about themselves, despite Leicester City highlighting the impact a good strike partnership can have on a team.
Both Diego Costa and Batshuayi will need time to gel and work alongside one another if Conte is hoping to instrument a strike partnership at Stamford Bridge next season. If it is, then players will have to follow Batshuayi through the doors and they’ll have to be well chosen to fit that system.
But they’ll also have to be able to replace the spine of the Chelsea system. Former manager, Mourinho has also spoken proudly of the way he built a core at Chelsea from 2004 onwards, claiming it was his squad that won the Premier League titles, the European cups and everything in between, and in fairness, he isn’t wrong.
However, it’s time for Chelsea to seriously start planning for the future. With Petr Cech being sold to Arsenal, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba sunning themselves in the MLS as their careers come to an end, adding an ageing John Terry, who came close leaving the club this summer, the spine has very much been ripped out of the squad.
Need for reinforcements throughout the squad is clear to see, with one eye on the future, the importance of transfers, something that Chelsea haven’t been all that successful on in the recent past, has never been greater.
Chelsea supporters will be hoping that reports linking the club with moves for the likes of Radja Nainggolan, N’Golo Kante and Alvaro Morata aren’t all for nothing. With all things considered, Chelsea fans will be excited about what lies ahead under the management their latest Italian.
The club’s previous Italians have all been fan favourites, who have achieved historic things during their time at the Bridge in their own respective rights. Conte will be hoping he can one day be held in the same regard as the likes of Gianfranco Zola, Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Di Matteo.
