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Chelsea’s new head coach has promised that he’ll draw on the experience he gained during his time in Italy as Juventus manager in order to help the Blues return to the top of the Premier League table.

Conte took over at Stamford Bridge in July, having spent the summer leading the Italy national side during the European Championships in France. He saw his Chelsea side take the lead during Monday night’s London derby with West Ham before being pegged back through a James Collins goal. They won the match in the 89th minute when Diego Costa scored, with the Spaniard lucky to still be on the pitch following an earlier horror tackle on West Ham’s goalkeeper Adrian.

The Blues suffered an abysmal season last time out, as José Mourinho was sacked in December and Guus Hiddink came in to replace him on a temporary basis. The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ is now the Manchester United manager and Conte is hoping that the time he spent in Italy will see Chelsea challenging for titles once more.

Juventus had finished seventh for two successive years when their former player was installed as manager in 2011. He then went on to win three consecutive Serie A titles with La Vecchia Signora and he’s determined to do the same thing with Chelsea, knowing that the Stamford Bridge club finished in a disappointing tenth position last time out.

Speaking after his side’s 2-1 home win on Monday the Italian said, “Juventus hadn’t won the title for many, many years and at the start it did not appear easy. I remember that because confidence was low and the players didn’t trust themselves. It’s important to work in that situation and I remember we worked very hard”.

It is work that Conte believes is crucial to any chance of success in what will be a very competitive Premier League this season. He continued, “We can see a bit of the same situation now, no? After a bad season, 10th place was no good for the players, confidence was low and the fans weren’t happy with this situation. But I know only one word that we must follow and that is to work, and to work very hard. If we stay together, in bad and in good situations, very, very soon we will try to go back to playing for the title. It’s not easy, but we must try and we must find the right motivation, the right spirit to fight”.

One of Chelsea’s new signings, N’Golo Kante, believes that the manager’s work ethic and spirit will be crucial to the club’s forthcoming season and confirmed it’s why he decided to leave the defending Premier League champions in order to head to West London. He said, “I chose Chelsea because I spoke with the manager here and when I did that, I realised the capacity of the manager and that is why I made my decision. Now I have discovered him, and discovered how he is training, how he is, and what I can say is he is passionate and a hard worker. He likes to communicate, to make me understand his idea of football here”.

Kante also shares his manager’s desire to see Chelsea return to the top end of the Premier League and is convinced that Conte knows how to get the most out of him. Kante: “He said he knows how I play and he thinks I can be a good player for his team and that’s why I’ve come here. And, of course, I like Premier League football and that is why I decided to stay in this league. My ambition is to achieve good things with the club, to get success in the Premier League and, I hope, return to the Champions League. To the supporters, the only thing I would like to say now is that I will always give my best for the club, for the team”.

Chelsea’s new head coach has defended the referee from last night’s Premier League match against West Ham and said that he was right not to send off Diego Costa for a late challenge on Adrian.

Chelsea took the lead against the Hammers following a 47th minute penalty which was converted by Eden Hazard. Costa was then booked by the match referee, Anthony Taylor, following an introduction this year of a new rule that encourages referees to punish players who argue with decisions. The Spaniard had confronted Taylor when he failed to award the Blues another penalty.

The fiery forward later caught West Ham’s ‘keeper Adrian with a late tackle, getting nowhere near the ball but leaving a mark on the shot-stopper’s leg. Taylor decided against showing the forward a second yellow card that would have seen him sent off.

James Collins equalised for the Hammers in the 77th minute before Costa, somewhat ironically, scored the winning goal for the home side in the 89th minute of play. Slaven Bilic, West Ham’s manager, believes he could just as easily not have been on the pitch, “It was not reckless or deliberate, but it was quite late. He could have been booked again and so a red card. I am not frustrated because of that, I am frustrated because of the late goal”.

The new man in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat believes that the referee made the right call however. Conte, who was brought in in the summer as Chelsea’s first permanent manager since the sacking of José Mourinho, said to Sky Sports after the match, “Diego is a good player and a passionate man – sometimes it happens that he can receive a yellow card. I think in the situation with Adriano the referee took the right decision”.

Costa is known to be a destructive player, with many commentators believing that his combustible play might have seen him leave Stamford Bridge after the arrival of the notoriously strict former Italy national manager. In the past Costa has been given retrospective bans for stamping on players, kicking out and more.

During Chelsea’s FA Cup quarter-final match against Everton at Goodison Park last season the Spaniard appeared to bite Gareth Barry during an exchange between the two players, though the Football Association decided against taking any action. He has also been caught on camera attempting to gouge the eye of Liverpool player Martin Skrtel during a League Cup match between the two teams.

However on this occasion Anthony Taylor saw nothing wrong with Costa’s challenge and chose to allow him to remain on the pitch. It was all part of the excitement of Conte’s first Premier League match in charge of the Blues and he admitted after the game that his adrenalin was higher than he expected it to be. The former Juventus player and manager has a reputation from his time in Italy as being a passionate manager on the touchline and he demonstrated as much when he celebrated with Chelsea fans following Costa’s winner.

In his post-match interview he said, “I knew the Premier League only through television. I played against English teams in the Champions League and Europa League, but playing this league is very difficult. There is a great intensity in the Premier League and it’s very physical. I don’t know if I’ll sleep tonight because the adrenaline is high”.

Chelsea joined the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City with three points from their opening game of the season. They travel to Watford for their next match on Saturday and goal scorer Hazard believes it’s time to forget about their nightmare season last year. They had their worst start to a top-flight campaign since the 1960s and it led to the December sacking of self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ José Mourinho, who is now United’s manager.

The Belgian forward, who came in for some criticism during the last campaign, said, “It was good to be back on the pitch in front of our own supporters. We did very well and we played 90 minutes like tigers. It’s not every year I score in my first game. Last season is finished – we are looking forward to the future. We want to bring a lot of emotion to the fans”.

Chelsea’s youth goalkeeper Jamal Blackman has joined Wycombe Wanderers on a short loan, the club have confirmed.

The 22-year-old will play for the Chairboys until the 3rd of January 2017. He has previously enjoyed loan spells at both Middlesbrough and Ostersunds in Sweden. It comes on the back of Wycombe failing to agree terms to extend the loan of Cameron Dawson with his parent club Sheffield Wednesday.

Wanderers have struggled to get a permanent ‘keeper between the sticks and Blackman could become the fifth stopper in as many regular matches if he appears against Accrington tomorrow night. Benjamin Siegrist started the club’s last game against Accrington, Ryan Allsop was in goal against Oxford, Scott Brown started versus Crawley and the aforementioned Dawson was between the sticks against Grimsby.

The Chairboys have played play-off games during that time, but as far as regular League Two matches are concerned there have been a number of changes in goal for Wycombe Wanderers. They will be hoping that the six foot six inches frame of Blackman will be able to fill the void until at least the post-Christmas period as they look to get their season back on track.

Antonio Conte has confirmed that Chelsea are setting their sights on the Premier League title this season and that other clubs in the English top-flight should be prepared for a battle for the crown.

Chelsea are the last of the top sides to get their season underway. They host West Ham at Stamford Bridge tonight and the new head coach of the Blues will be hoping to see his team join Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, José Mourinho’s Manchester United and Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool with three points at the end of the London derby.

Conte’s statement came in the wake of former Chelsea manager Mourinho insisting that other managers were afraid to make bold pledges regarding their hopes for the season. Conte refused to be drawn into the mind games, however, suggesting that there are far worse things to be scared of in life. He said, “No. I must be honest I think that other things scare me, not to win or lose in football”.

Mourinho, who was sacked by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in December last year after watching his side endure their worst start to a top-flight campaign since the 1960s, made suggestions over the weekend that Manchester United are the only team capable of winning the Premier League this season. Conte, on the other hand, believes that there are a number of teams in with a shout.

Speaking in his press conference before the match against the Hammers the former Italy national manager said, “I think that in this league it’s very tough, and I think that at the moment six, seven, eight teams can fight to win the title. And I’m sure Chelsea is a good team and we must work very hard to be in the six, seven teams that fight for the title”.

One of the players that Conte will be hoping returns to form this season is Diego Costa. The explosive forward was one of a number of players who under-performed last year in a campaign that saw the Blues finish tenth in the league without any silverware. After Mourinho, the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ was sacked Guus Hiddink was brought in on an interim basis to steady the ship. Results improved but the Dutchman couldn’t repeat his trick of winning the FA Cup with the Blues as he did when he took over from Luis Felipe Scolari in 2008-2009. It led to some Chelsea fans questioning the mentality of some players, including Costa.

The Spaniard has been linked with a move back to his former club Atletico Madrid, but Conte believes he’s the perfect forward to fit in with his gameplan. He said, “Diego is a forward, and he knows that in my idea of football, the forward must always be a point of reference for the team. I don’t like the forward to move around the pitch, I like the forward to stay there, because you are a forward, and your commitment is to score the goal, stay in the right position. You’re a forward, not a midfielder, not a defender”.

Conte has a reputation for being a hardline manager who doesn’t stand for any nonsense, causing many commentators to wonder whether he might want to get Costa off the books sooner rather than later. Yet the former Juventus player and manager has liked what he’s seen from the player. Conte said, “I try to improve all my players. I’m seeing a good attitude from Diego, to work, to improve in different situations. I think Diego can give a lot to this team, and I’m sure that he’ll have a good season”.

The new man in the Stamford Bridge dugout feels that Costa will play an important role in the club’s search for the title and feels that he shares his passion and desire to win. He said, “For me he’s an important player, he had a fantastic season two years ago when Chelsea won the title. Last season for a while he didn’t score, then he started to score, but I’m happy that Diego stays here to work with us. I like the spirit of Diego, because he always shows a great passion. Me, I’m the same, I have great passion for football. He doesn’t want to lose and I like this passion”.

Chelsea’s new head coach Antonio Conte is preparing for his first game in English football tonight when Chelsea take on their London rivals West Ham and he told Sky Sports that he’s slowly adjusting to life in the country’s capital.

One of the Italian’s first jobs was to learn English, a language he had previously not got around to mastering. Having moved his entire family outside of Italy for the first time in his career, Conte felt it was important to speak English fluently for everyone’s sake. He said, “It’s a big challenge for me, but not just for me, for my wife, for my daughter – for my whole family. For the first time we arrive in a different country, a fantastic country with different language and different habits. It’s important we respect the story of the country – that we breathe another air”.

It is not just Conte who will be mastering the English language this year, with the former Italy national manager insisting that it is the language of the Chelsea dressing room. The 47-year-old is expecting everyone in his team to be able to communicate in English without the use of a translator – something that is not currently the case.

Conte has been surprised by some of the differences between life in Italy and in England. The players like to listen to music in the dressing room before a match, for example, which the Italian players would never have done. Conte, “Music in the dressing room before the game in strange to me. In Italy there’s a lot of concentration and focus and you want your players focused. But here I look at the situation and say, ‘Why not?’”

Conte is keen to return Chelsea to the upper echelons of the Premier League after they finished tenth last season. Their poor start to the campaign led to the sacking of José Mourinho, with the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ having overseen the worst start to a top-flight campaign at Stamford Bridge since the 1960s. Guus Hiddink came in to replace him on an interim basis, much as he did in the 2008-2009 season when Luis Felipe Scolari was removed from the dugout by Roman Abramovich after a similarly poor start.

Returning a club to their former glory is something Conte has been asked to do in the past. When he took over as manager at Juventus, a club he had previously been on the books of during his playing days, they had suffered successive seventh-placed finishes in Serie A. The Italian led them to three Serie A titles in his three seasons there.

Pressure, then, is not something that bothers Conte. He said, “I feel great pressure but it is important to live with that pressure and focus on my work. I live football with great passion and this passion gives me the will to improve and the ambition to meet every challenge I face”.

Billionaire Roman Abramovich has invested heavily to buy success in West London and Conte is more than aware of the need to ensure he does not disappoint his new paymaster. He told Sky Sports, “The story of this club is that very, very soon, we must return to fighting for the title. This is what the owner wants, what the fans want, what the players want and what I want”.

Chelsea and West Ham are the final game of the first weekend since the return of the Premier League, with some explosive matches having already got people talking. Hull, who are without a permanent manager and have been ravaged by injuries, beat defending champions Leicester City 2-1 on Saturday before Liverpool took all three points in a seven goal thriller against Arsenal at the Emirates yesterday. Conte will be hoping that the Blues join Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City by getting their season off to a winning start.

20-year-old Chelsea forward has signed a new contract with the club before heading off to join Ajax on loan for the season.

The youngster made his Chelsea debut last season after joining the club in 2013. He scored four goals in sixteen games for the West London club and was the first ever Burkina Faso international to to score a Premier League goal.

Traore joined the Blues as an eighteen-year-old having previously been through the youth system at Auxerre. He signed a four year contract that would have seen him stay at Stamford Bridge until next year, but the club were keen to keep him tied down for a longer period of time before he left to go to Holland on loan for the season.

His new deal will keep him at the club until 2019 and the experience he’ll gain in the Netherlands will be vital to his future in West London. He spent last season on loan at fellow Eredivisie side Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse, more commonly known as Vitesse Arnhem.

Despite sanctioning the loan move at a time when he’s complaining about the lack of value in the transfer market, new Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte believes that Traore has a long future at Stamford Bridge. Speaking about the player’s departure in his press conference in advance of the Blues’ first Premier League game at home against West Ham on Monday night, the Italian said, “Traore is a good prospect, he’s a prospect for a Chelsea player. He’s going on loan to Ajax, he’s a good player”.

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has moved to dismiss rumours of a rift between him and the club’s defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic by confirming that he’s an important player for the future.

The Italian, who arrived as Chelsea’s first permanent head coach since self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ José Mourinho was sacked by Roman Abramovich last December, has denied that there is any problem with the Serbian. The 28-year-old has been linked with a move to Juventus in the wake of Conte’s former club sanctioning the sale of Paul Pogba back to Manchester United.

However Conte is adamant that the player is going nowhere and that there’s no problem between the pair. Speaking in his press conference ahead of Chelsea’s first Premier League match under his watch the former Italy national manager said, “Nemanja is an important player for me, and he knows this. There isn’t a problem with him – Nemanja was a Chelsea player and is a Chelsea player”.

Conte also made the point that he’s in touch with all of his Chelsea players, not just the Serbian, to ensure that they’re all happy with life in West London. He said, “I speak a lot with my players, all my players. Usually when you arrive at a new club it’s important to get to know the players, all the aspects”.

The Italian wants to pick their brains to see if they can explain why last season went so wrong for the Blues. They finished in tenth position in the league and failed to get to the final of any of the cup competitions, something that hadn’t happened in recent years. He said, “It’s important to speak with all the players, to understand, to listen, why the last season was so bad. Because for the coach, for the first time arriving it’s important to go inside, into the head of the players to understand and solve the situation”.

The Italian’s first taste of league football in England will come on Monday night when West Ham arrive at Stamford Bridge for the London derby. Conte believes that keeping hold of players like Matic is vital at a time when the transfer fees have become so excessive. The Blues have already paid over £60 million on the signings of N’Golo Kante from Chelsea and Michy Batshuayi from Marseille, but it’s not easy to make all of the signings that the former Juventus manager would like to make.

Conte said, “For all the clubs, it’s a crazy transfer market. Not for Chelsea, in general. This market is a bit crazy, because when you try to buy one or another player, the cost is very, very expensive, and not the real valuation of the player. And it’s a very strange situation. But now we are waiting for the right solution for the club”.

Chelsea’s new head coach Antonio Conte has said that he wants the Blues to enter the new Premier League season with ‘high intensity, after his side concluded their pre-season with a 4-2 win over Werder Bremen yesterday.

The former Italy manager saw goals from Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Pedro and Oscar give his side the win in Germany as they gear up to begin their league campaign with a match against London rivals West Ham. It will be Conte’s first competitive game as Chelsea manager, having taken over has their first permanent boss since José Mourinho was sacked last December and replaced by Guus Hiddink on an interim basis.

Speaking to the club’s official website the former Juventus player and manager said, “I want to play with high intensity, to win the ball back very soon after we lose it, to attack with the right balance. I saw positive things and many situations that we can improve. We are working on this. Now there is one week of work before the season starts”.

Chelsea look like they will be hard to beat under the Italian, having already secured pre-season wins against AC Milan and Liverpool. Conte acknowledged that the positive results are important ahead of the 2016-2017 league season. He said, “It was a good victory. Pre-season was very tough and hard in all aspects and we must be pleased to finish with a win. It’s important to win for confidence ahead of the start of the season”.

The 47-year-old was concerned by seeing his defence concede two goals, but believed that tiredness was a factor in the way they dealt with strong opposition. He said, “The team started the game in the right way and with the right intensity. There were some bad situations to concede two goals which I didn’t like, we must improve a lot, but we were tired after our pre-season.”.

The new Blues boss revealed this week that his first transfer fee was £100 and eight footballs. Signed by his local Lecce as a 13-year-old, Conte and his team-mate Sandro Morello cost the side ‘eight footballs and three of them were flat’, the Italian told the Mail on Sunday. It’s where he got his disciplinary streak from, though, with his own dad being the boss. He said, “My first team was called Juventina. My father was the owner, the coach, the kit man and everything else. He was my first master. In that period, my father was very tough – and especially with me”.

He also told the Mail that former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is a friend of his and the fellow Italian, who won the league and FA Cup with the Blues in 2010, encouraged him to head to Stamford Bridge. He said, “Carlo told me about the club. We spoke about people who work there”.

Chelsea’s opposition this weekend performed much better than many people thought they would last season, with Dmitri Payet a particularly impressive performer. Conte knows it won’t be an easy game to kick off a campaign in which he hopes to see his side improve on the disappointment of the last time out when they got off the their worst start to a top-flight campaign under the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’.

He’s pleased with the work so far, though, and believes that they are ready to take on the challenge posed by the Hammers when they arrive in West London on Sunday. He said, “We are working very hard to be ready. It will be difficult. We know we have some problems but we are trying to solve them. I am pleased with the attitude and behaviour of my players. It’s been good and now all of the players need a rest”.

Of the players he has got at his disposal perhaps one of the most surprising members of the first-choice XI is John Terry. The former England captain looked destined to be on his way out of the club towards the end of last season before Conte intervened to keep him at Stamford Bridge. Speaking of Terry the Italian said, “In every team there are some players with great experience, and this experience counts, if you play but also if you don’t play. John is a god example during the training sessions. He has the right attitude and the right behaviour”.

Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah has departed Stamford Bridge in order to sign a permanent deal with Roma, the club have confirmed.

The Egyptian born player was on loan at the Serie A side for all of last season and has now swapped his temporary position there for a more long-term one, He had previously been on loan with another Italian club in the form of Fiorentina.

The 24-year-old was signed by the Blues in January of 2014 for £11 million, having previously impressed the club’s hierarchy with his Champions League performances against them for his former club FC Basle. He struggled to win a place in Jose Mourinho’s starting XI, though, so a series of loan moves followed.

He is the sixteenth player to depart Stamford Bridge in some form or another since the arrival of the club’s new head coach Antonio Conte. The former Italy national manager has already sanctioned the departure of Baba Rahman on a season long loan to German side Schalke, as well as loan deals for numerous promising youngsters, such as Nathan Ake and Lewis Baker.

The club’s new head coach is starting to shape his squad, with Salah and Rahman’s departures coupled with the recent arrivals at the club of the Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi in a £33 million deal from Marseille and French defensive midfielder N’Golo Kante’s signing from Leicester City for a fee believed to be in the region of £30 million.

The former Juventus manager and player decided against recalling Salah to West London for a look at him in pre-season, instead opting to allow him to remain in Italy, He’s been there since he was loaned to Fiorentina at the end of the 2014-2015 Premier League season, having made just thirteen appearances for Chelsea during his time at Stamford Bridge. His actual on-pitch time amounted to less than ten games in Blue.

That contrasts widely with his time in the Italian capital. He made thirty-four league appearances for Roma, helping them to reach the last sixteen of both the Coppa Italia and the Champions League. They also finished third in Serie A, just two points behind Napoli and eleven off eventual league winners Juventus.

Salah also re-found his form in Italy. He finished as Roma’s top-scorer for the season, netting fourteen times in the league and fifteen times in all competitions. Some improvement considering he only scored two during his entire time at Chelsea. The goal scoring continued from where it had left off with Fiorentina. He scored six goals in sixteen games for the Viola.

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois believes that his Belgium team-mate and new Chelsea signing Michy Courtois will need time to adapt his game to the rigours of the Premier League.

The forward was new Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte’s first signing since arriving at the club, with the former Italy national manager sanctioning his £33.2 million signing from Marseille in July. The 22-year-old signed a five year deal with the Blues and cut short his post-Euro 2016 holiday in order to link up with his new team-mates during their pre-season tour of America.

Batshuayi had been out in France with the Belgium team for the 2016 European Championships, though he couldn’t stop the Red Devils from being knocked out of the tournament at the quarter-final stage by Wales. He was in the squad on merit with fellow Premier League strikers Romelu Lukaku, formerly of Chelsea and now at Everton, as well as Christian Benteke and Divock Origi who both play for Liverpool.

The French striker scored 33 goals in 78 appearances for Marseille; a return that caught the attention of Conte who was also out in France this summer with his Italy team. Courtois believes that Batshuayi has shown enough to mean he will definitely be a success in the Premier League – as long as he’s given time to settle.

Speaking to the club’s official website the Chelsea goalkeeper said, “Michy is a very strong striker, fast, good technique, he can hold a ball and score a goal very easily with either foot. He is good in the air as well. I won’t say it is his strongest point but he can handle himself and being strong as well is important for that. I hope he can prove himself here as well.”

The Chelsea number one feels that the most important thing his fellow countryman will need to do at Stamford Bridge is adapt as quickly as possible to the pace of life in English football. He said, “He will need to adapt a bit to the speed of the Premier League because I think it is faster than the French League, but I think he will adapt fast. He is working hard so hopefully he will have a good season together with us”.

It is yet to be revealed whether Batshuayi will be Conte’s first-choice striker for the 2016-2017 Premier League campaign, with the club still being linked with a move for their former striker Lukaku. The Belgian forward has confirmed that he hopes to leave Everton this summer, with a return to West London almost certain to be his destination. Rumours are also persisting that Diego Costa could be ready to move back to his former club Atletico Madrid before the window shuts. Conte is known to demand discipline from his players and Costa’s time at Stamford Bridge has been marred by a number of controversial incidents.