Antonio Conte has told new signing Ross Barkley where he will fit in his squad on match days after the midfielder completed a £15 million move from Everton last Friday.
The central midfielder has a lot of work to do to get back to full fitness but most worrying on his mind will be how he will take up one of the available midfield positions in Conte’s starting 11. Currently in those positions are Cesc Fabregas, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Danny Drinkwater and the ever enterprising midfield machine N’Golo Kante.
Drinkwater is settling pretty well after signing for the Blues last summer while Bakayoko struggles to make some recognizable impact at Stamford Bridge. His position has been under threat but keeps surprising Chelsea fans each time he is selected in high profile games and apparently, it won’t be his position that will be under tthreat if Conte’s expectations of Barkley are anything to go by.
The Italian says the former Toffees star player will compete for advanced midfield positions with Willian and Pedro as well at the hole behind the two strikers, where Fabregas is mostly played.
“Today he started to have a training session with the fitness coach,” Conte said. “It’s important for me to see him, to understand his physical condition, to improve his physical condition, to work with us, into our ideas. My hope is to have this player very quickly.
Ross Barkley is a really good player. First of all we have the necessity to bring him in the best physical condition. I think he can play in midfield, if we play with three midfielders, or number 10 if we play 3-4-3. Ross Barkley is also a creative player.
Tonight we had Willian and Pedro. These are two creative players. This signing is a good signing for the club. I think he has the quality to score more goals. My priority is to convince the player to work for the team.”
Antonio Conte, Goal
