Chelsea notched up their 15th win in their last 16 games to solidify their spot at the top of the table. With a 8 point gap opening up now and apart from Tottenham Hotspur, none of the teams looking really capable of challenging their supremacy at the top. But Antonio Conte is not someone who will be putting his feet up and relaxing even one bit. It is clear how the loss against Arsenal had affected him and his honesty and frank interview after the match showed that the man is here on a mission and the turnaround has been massive and hugely unprecedented since.
Chelsea are mainly comprised of the same group of players who had limped to a 10th place finish last season and with a couple of subtle changes in personnel and a tweak in formation, he has worked wonders. Coming into a new league and that too, the Premier League and competing against 6 teams who are capable of producing the same results as you on a daily basis is extremely tough as Pep Guardiola is finding out in his first season.
But we have to mention that while Chelsea are playing brilliant football, a number of other factors, namely their hard work and focus aided, are helping them. Conte has been extremely lucky regarding the situation surrounding the fitness of his players. He has lost no one to a lengthy layoff and they have been also lucky regarding suspensions and the form of his players.
It is not necessary that all of this will keep ticking throughout the season and next season as well when they will be faced with the prospect of managing 4 competitions and Conte will very well realise he doesn’t have the necessary depth nor the required quality to dominate globally.
In midfield, Chelsea have Kante, Matic and Fabregas as the established options and after that, their reserves run dry. And hence, reports linking them with Bayern Munich star Arturo Vidal make sense.
The duo has worked together well in the past and there is mutual admiration and respect between the two. In the summer, Vidal had even commented, ‘If I had to go to war, I would take Conte with me’. And we are pretty sure, the sentiments are reciprocated. The dynamic and combative box-to-box midfielder is an asset to any team. His energy and technical prowess are unmatched along with his zest to play and the quality he brings along with all of this. He has an offensive impact as well and was the Chilean Footballer of the Year in 2106, leaving behind the likes of Sanchez.
But Chelsea have to dig deep for the 29-year old with Bayern Munich reportedly quoting a price as high as £56m. Chelsea are certainly capable of splurging and the prospect of a Kante and Vidal midfield might be too good to resist for the gaffer.
