Interim Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink has confirmed that incoming Blues manager Antonio Conte visited the club’s Cobham training ground on Tuesday.
Conte, 46, was confirmed as the new long-term Chelsea boss last Monday after months of speculation that he was going to move to Stamford Bridge.
The former Juventus boss will officially start work with the Blues after Euro 2016, once his contract with the Italy national team expires.
But Hiddink has confirmed that Conte has already visited the club’s training ground as he wanted to meet his new players.
Hiddink said: “He was presented on Monday and there was also the request if he could come and meet and shake hands with the players.
“I didn’t have any obstruction with that. So everyone met, very briefly, very short. That was Tuesday.”
Furthermore, the Dutchman also said that Conte is perfectly equipped for the hot seat at Chelsea. Hiddink said: “When you look at his record, he made a good spell in Juventus getting the title in Italy.
“So it’s always good because this club is always keen to play to win and for titles. He is equipped and able, and he’s used to the pressure, which is always on in big clubs to get titles. I had a short meeting with him about general things, football, Italy, the past … generally about the club and the work we’ve done in the past few months. And that was it.”
Hiddink also revealed he had a small talk with Conte: “I had a short meeting with him about general things, football, Italy, the past … generally about the club and the work we’ve done in the past few months. And that was it.”
Chelsea have been in excellent form since Hiddink replaced Jose Mourinho in December. The Blues are yet to lose a single Premier League game in 2016 and since the turn of the year, only Tottenham and Leicester City have won more points than the Dutchman’s outfit.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s next game sees them travel to Wales to face Swansea City. The Swans have been in decent form under new boss Francesco Guidolin, winning three of their last five games.
But Chelsea will go into the game full of confidence, having beaten Aston Villa 4-0 at Villa Park.
COMMENTS