By Boyega Johnson
Antonio Conte has suggested he would be keen to bring Arturo Vidal to Chelsea when he takes over.
The Italy national coach has already confirmed his departure from his current post and has begun planning his transfer policy at Stamford Bridge, handing the club hierarchy a wishlist for the summer transfer window.
Bayern Munich midfielder Vidal is among his midfield targets, who also include Paul Pogba and Radja Nainggolan of Roma, and proved himself to be a valued lieutenant for Conte’s Juventus side on the way to three Serie A titles.
Last week Vidal said that he “would go to war” alongside his former manager and Conte has repeated the favour, offering a glowing endorsement of the Chilean international’s qualities.
“I’d take Vidal too. He’s an amazing player. I must admit at Juve I found him hard to fit in,” he told El Pais.
“In my head I wanted to play a 4-2-4 and 4-4-2, but seeing the intensity of Vidal getting up and down the pitch I switched to a 4-3-3 which then transformed into 3-5-2.
“He has extraordinary physical and technical attributes, if I get to coach him a little more it’d be fantastic. I want him in all my teams.”
Conte’s former side have already offered a firm rebuttal of Chelsea’s prospective interest in Paul Pogba, with Juventus chief executive Giuseppe Marotta this week expressing his confidence that the French midfielder would choose to remain in Serie A despite what is likely to be a lengthy queue of suitors.
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