Conte’s meritocracy gives fringe players a real chance

In his press conference at Cobham yesterday, Antonio Conte wouldn’t be drawn on who he would play against West Ham in the EFL Cup this evening. But what he did say when discussing the competition was that it was a good place to play fringe players and youngsters looking to break into the side.

Conte has already done a great job of giving players a genuine chance to prove themselves, and has cast out big names like Cesc Fabregas and Branislav Ivanovic for the sake of players like Nathaniel Chalobah and Victor Moses, who never truly got a chance under previous regimes.

This is all the more reason for other squad players to believe that a good performance this evening will give them a shot at Premier League playing time. That’s the ideal motivation for them to give their all in what promises to be a testing encounter against the Hammers, who will in all likelihood play a strong team in an attempt to keep their hard-earned momentum going after two wins in a row.

Chelsea News