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Sat 5 August 2017 12:10, UK

COMMENT 

By Abigail Withey 

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has never shied away from voicing his opinion, and he has done exactly that over the current transfer activity at Chelsea.

In recent weeks the London manager has publicly vented his frustrations over the summer activity from his club, but his latest controversial statements could prove devastating to the club’s title hopes.

The Italian boss has said very clearly that Chelsea needs to sign more players before the transfer window closes.

Conte said: “We have a very small squad and it’s very important to improve the numerical aspect.”

“One new player will not be enough,” Conte said to the Sun ahead of Chelsea’s Community Shield clash with Arsenal. “We need more players.

“It’s important that the club knows my opinion and they are trying to do the best for our team.”

Although his honesty might be appreciated, his views on the current state of the Chelsea team could be potentially damaging.

As a player, if your manager says that the squad isn’t big enough and that a number of new recruits are needed, it can lead to demotivation from some of the fringe players.

In addition, as a fan, if you hear your manager say that the team isn’t good enough, it’s easy to start the season with low expectations.

It’s been a frustrating window for Chelsea so far, after striker Romelu Lukaku moved to rivals Manchester United, after serious speculation had hinted at a move to West London.

However, they have signed forward Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid (£55.2million), Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco (£34million), Antonio Rudiger from Roma (£30million) and Willy Caballero from Man City on a free.

That’s over £100million on new players added to a squad that won the Premier League at a canter last season.

Okay, their rivals have strengthened too, but it hints at dissatisfaction for Conte with how things are being handled inside the club – despite his public display of support.

If Conte is doing it as a way of deflecting pressure from his team, it’s potentially going to backfire and Chelsea fans can’t be happy.

At the end of the day, all the talking will be done on the pitch, but Conte might want to rethink what he says in public – or risk his empire crumbling around him.

In other Chelsea news, a four-year deal was signed as this defender left the club.

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