Journalist Duncan Castles claims that Conte didn’t really want the England international, and he doesn’t think he’s the same level of player as Nemanja Matic.
During a Transfer Window podcast, Castles said:
“He’s not the player Conte wants as a second midfielder. Conte’s position was that he would be happy to accept Matic being sold but he would want to get two replacements – Bakayoko which he got and a player of similar quality.
“Conte won’t be provided with the replacement he wants, which is what Chelsea are doing across the entirety of the team.”
Chelsea spent over £180million, but the Italian missed out on a number of key targets as Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley, and Fernando Llorente all rejected the chance to join.
See also
Stan Collymore: ‘I’d prefer this striker over Alvaro Morata’
Antonio Rudiger’s message to Chelsea fans about their season so far
N’Golo Kante responds to Claude Makelele