Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is prepared to offer Antonio Conte the necessary funds needed in order to strengthen his squad following a less than convincing start to the season.
The Blues’ 3-0 defeat to Arsenal was their second consecutive league defeat and leaves Chelsea eighth in the Premier League table, without a win from their last three.
And after giving the players the benefit of doubt following a turbulent 2015/16 campaign, Abramovich has reportedly seen enough and, according to The Telegraph, is set to back Conte in the transfer market.
However, the Blues boss may have to endure the frustration of another unsuccessful transfer window in January as the report suggests Abramovich is unlikely to allow Conte to make a move on his targets until the summer transfer window.
The Italian was left frustrated during his first summer in charge as he did not receive the financial backing to pursue a number of his initial transfer targets which inevitably led to the panic-but signings of David Luiz and Marcos Alonso on transfer deadline day.
Speculation has already began over the future of both Luiz and Alonso at the club, while Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic are also facing an uncertain future following Chelsea’s defensive horrors so far this season.
Conte’s continual pursuit of Leonardo Bonnuci of Juventus and Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly has intensified such speculation, however all four players may still have a chance to turn things around under Conte.
If Abramovich does stall the Italian’s transfer plans until the summer, the Chelsea boss could be forced to turn to the 3-5-2 formation, which served him so well at Juventus, in an attempt to solve the Blues’ defensive woes.
Therefore Luiz, Cahill and Ivanovic would all be in competition to start in one central defensive spot, presumably alongside Kurt Zouma and John Terry when the pair have recovered from their respective injuries, while Alonso would have the left-wing-back spot to occupy.
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