Chelsea round-up: Conte demands Morata improvements; new bid for left-back; Matic deal close to completion

Add as preferred source on Google

In a surprise move, Antonio Conte has called on new £60 million signing Alvaro Morata to improve. The Italian spoke after the Spaniard’s first start in Chelsea colours against Inter Milan in a pre-season friendly, with the Metro quoting him as saying:

“Morata is having training with us and for sure he has to improve a lot his physical condition to go quickly to the idea of our football. But he is working very well and today he tried to do his best but for sure he has to improve.”

It is not a great surprise that the former Real Madrid man is struggling for fitness having had his pre-season regime disrupted by transfer talk and travelling to complete a move. He has not been helped by Conte’s decision to bizarrely play him as a left winger against Inter Milan, either.

Morata broke the club’s transfer record with his move, but another player could beat his recently set record. Italian outlet Calciomercato say that the Blues have made a bid worth €70 million (£62.6 million) for Juventus man Alex Sandro, while including a right of first refusal on midfielder Nemanja Matic in the offer.

The Brazilian is believed to be one of Chelsea’s top targets in this summer’s transfer window as Conte looks to add strength in depth at wing-back to compete with the likes of Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses. Sandro would be a great addition, but it is not yet clear if Juventus will be tempted into selling.

However, that does come as a surprise as The Daily Mail say that Nemanja Matic is close to a £40 million move to Manchester United. That comes after the Serbian has Brennan pictured in Manchester United training gear as speculation intensifies over the possibility of a second spell for the midfielder under the management of Jose Mourinho.

The Sun say that the final hurdle to the deal is now being overcome as the two clubs discuss potential bonuses from Matic’s number of appearances and United’s success. Having entered into the final year of his contract, the club look set to more than double their money on the 28-year-old and will immediately be looking to reinvest that money back into the squad.