I Prefer To Have Players Who Are Very Happy To Stay – Conte

Antonio Conte has said that he will not be the one who choose which players Chelsea sign in the January transfer window and beyond.

“When I [say] that I give my opinion to the club, I try to tell where are the [positions] we can improve, also in the numerical aspect because in some roles we don’t have a couple of players or there is a young player that is not ready to play with the first team,” Conte explained.

“If the club ask me some names [of players to sign] I try to do this, but then it’s the club that decides the name, the investment, which is the best player for the team.

“I think that we must be ready for [everything], to work on the pitch and also to work on the transfer market, but you have to understand what your role is in the club. I’m very focused on the pitch to try to improve my players and the transfer market is for the club. I trust in my club and I’m sure they will take the best decision for the team.”

“I’m very happy to work with these players, also because we are working for year and a half now and now there is a fantastic mentality,” he added. “I’m enjoying a lot staying with my players during training and in games. We created a really good team, a good group, there is a great link. It’s the most important thing, sometimes better than to [buy] a big player.”

“I prefer to have players who are very happy to stay here than to have players that are unhappy, because when you are unhappy you transfer this to the other players, to me, to my staff,” Conte said. “I don’t like this. If we can avoid this I’d like to avoid this situation.

“I was a player, so I will understand if someone is worried about the World Cup. I will understand, but at the same time it’s very important to keep players who are very happy to stay here to work with us, and I think this must be our priority.”