Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has said this will be the most challenging season of his coaching career in another dig at his club over their lack of transfer activity.
The Italian tactician has been unsettled at Stamford Bridge this summer due to his side’s slowness to get going in the transfer market, though they have now brought in four new players.
Big names such as Alvaro Morata and Tiemoue Bakayoko are among the new arrivals at Chelsea so far this summer, but various reports suggest Conte wants as many as four more additions.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Community Shield tie with Arsenal, the Blues boss once again criticised his club by saying the state of his squad leaves him with the toughest challenge of his career.
‘For me, it will be the most difficult season of my career. I’m sure about this. It will be the most difficult of my career as a coach,’ he said.
‘I have this perception and I hope I’ve made a mistake.
‘We need more players, not top level like Neymar but more players to improve our squad and our quality.’
Chelsea continue to be linked with big names like Virgil van Dijk, Alex Sandro and Antonio Candreva, but they took their time getting deals for the likes of Morata and Bakayoko over the line.
Meanwhile, the Premier League champions also missed out on one of their top targets in Romelu Lukaku, who instead ended up moving to Manchester United.
Diego Costa also looks set to join the long list of players sold by the club, including the recent departure of Nemanja Matic, whom Conte hinted he was forced to let go.
The 47-year-old signed a new contract at Chelsea earlier in the summer, though he tellingly only agreed a pay rise instead of extending the length of it beyond its current two years.
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