Conte on potential signings, Ivanovic, Ake, Batshuayi and Chelsea’s keeper search
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte was asked about a number of issues in his media conference ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup tie with Brentford. Here is some of what the Italian had to say.
On Gary Cahill’s clash of heads with Hull’s Ryan Mason
“When this type of situation happens, it’s never good, above all if you are involved.
“The first days of this was not so good for Gary but now he’s in a good mentality. He overcame the situation. I’m pleased that the guy [Mason] stayed well.
“I wish for him and his family the best and above all to see him soon on the pitch.”
On an approach for Celtic’s Craig Gordon
“I don’t know about this. There are a lot of names that I read and for sure there is this [Asmir] Begovic situation, that Bournemouth have asked about him.
“But Begovic is Chelsea’s player and I am very happy to have him in the squad. I am very happy with his commitment, his behaviour on and off the pitch.
“He’s really important also in the changing room. Only if we have a good substitution can he go. Otherwise, he will stay here.
“It’s very difficult, because no club is available to sell you a good player. Why do we have to do this with another club?
“We are open to help him if there is the opportunity to replace him in the best way. If it’s not possible, Begovic will stay with us and help us until the end of the season. Then we’ll evaluate his situation.”
On Branislav Ivanovic’s future
“I don’t know. There is a lot of speculation, but there is also the truth in some situations. There are four days to finish this window, then we’ll see the situation.”
On potential signings
“I don’t know what will happen at the end of this window. The club knows my thoughts about this. If we stay with these players I’m very happy.
“I think that we have to improve our squad in the numbers of players, because I think that in some roles we have only a few players. But I must be honest, I don’t know.
“If it happens, I’m very happy, if it doesn’t we will continue this way.”
On team selection against Brentford
“The FA Cup, for us, is a good opportunity to see players that in this moment are not playing a lot.
“It happened in the last game in the FA Cup [against Peterborough]. But we want to win. We want to go into the next step in the FA Cup. I’ll try to make the best decision for our team tomorrow.”
On the upcoming Liverpool and Arsenal games
“For sure we play two very tough games against two rivals to win the league but for now my focus is to go into the next round of the FA Cup and I hope the same thought is in the mind of my players.”
On Nathan Ake
“Ake I think has the possibility to play in different positions, as a central defender and as a wing-back. Tomorrow for him is a good opportunity to show me he’s into our idea of football and to show his improvement.”
On a dilemma over Kenedy and Charly Musonda
“If Kenedy or Musonda play only one second they must stay with us for the rest of the season [due to Fifa rules on playing for more than two clubs in a season].
“The players know this, the club know this, I know this. They are two young players with good prospects. For sure, this level is a high level but they have a good will to fight, to try to improve.
“If we take the decision [for them] to stay here, I think that the players will be very happy and the club and I the same.”
On Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Nathaniel Chalobah and Ola Aina
“Ruben and Chalobah for sure will continue to stay with us for the rest of the season. For Ola I think there could be the possibility to go on loan but there are four days to see the development of the situation.”
On Michy Batshuayi
“For him, it is another chance to play and to show me that he’s improving. With Michy, I explained a lot of times his situation. I think it’s very clear.”
On the importance of the FA Cup
“For us, every competition must be a priority. In this case, the FA Cup is a good opportunity.
“In this season we didn’t play in the Champions League or the Europa League. For this reason, this competition for us is very important.
“It is the oldest competition in the world, and for me it’s an important trophy to try to win. We want to win tomorrow and to go into the next round.
“But you know better than me that in the FA Cup anything can happen – above all if you don’t play with the right concentration and the right focus. We want to play a good game and we want to go in the next round.”
