Former Chelsea player Pat Nevin believes that the club would be able to move on from Antonio Conte, should he eventually leave Stamford Bridge as the recent reports have widely suggested.
The Italian has showed plenty of displeasure towards the club’s board during the summer transfer window, and has recently admitted to be missing his homecountry very much.
I miss it, that’s beyond doubt. Italy is my homeland, so once I have had some good experiences, formative experiences, important and life-changing experiences, I’ll be back. I don’t know when but that’s the aim. – Antonio Conte, via Goal.com
These two issues are the main reason to the continious speculation regarding Conte’s future at the club, and many fear it’s only a matter of time when the former Juventus boss decides to move on.
Chelsea even offered Conte a contract extension this summer, but the Italian refused to extend his stay at the Bridge, only signing a deal that gave him a nice pay rise.
Nevin thinks that panicking would still be the wrong thing to do at this stage. Just like the rest of us, Nevin would really love Conte to stay for a long time to come, but wants to remind that the club would surely be able to find a great replacement for him – just like they’ve done in the past.
You kind of let these comments wash over you now. When you’ve been following Chelsea as long as some of us have, you know they change manager very quickly but still have brilliant managers. They seem to make good choices.
Although Conte is very popular and I’d love him, one hundred per cent, to stay for the next five years, you just sort of shrug your shoulders and accept that this is the business we are in.
It might change, it might adapt and you might have to go with someone else. It would be disappointing to some degree but Chelsea time and time again do that, change it and then keep on being successful.
Personally I’d want him to stay because I enjoy learning from him and I like the guy, he’s entertaining. Now I wouldn’t worry about it until the end of this season and possibly even another season after that and in football that is an eternity.
– Pat Nevin, Daily Star (via Goal.com)
