Is it reasonable that Antonio Conte is growing frustrated with Chelsea’s transfer activity?

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Saturday saw Chelsea confirm their first signing of the summer as former Manchester City goalkeeper Willy Caballero joined the Blues on a free transfer. However, the Daily Star report that manager Antonio Conte has grown increasingly frustrated with the club’s transfer business to date.

With only two and a half weeks until the squad jet off to Asia for a pre-season tour, when Conte is believed to want his squad assembled, with few to no changes, before the start of the season, Caballero is the only first team player to join the club. That is despite speculation that Conte is desperate to rebuild and add depth to his squad, as they face the added pressure of Champions League football alongside a Premier League title defence.

There is also the added complication that, in fact, Antonio Conte is not keen on many of the signings that the club are looking to make.

The reports indicate that Caballero is just one of three probable moves which Conte does not completely agree with, with Romelu Lukaku and Alex Sandro not believed to be high on his personal list of targets. Instead, chosen by owner Roman Abramovich, and likely to cost in excess of £130 million between them, they are likely to take up a substantial chunk of the budget available to Conte.

Abramovich may have taken a lesson from last season, when the club spent £33 million on Michy Batshuayi. Antonio Conte was not convinced by the Belgian when he was signed and made it perfectly clear that he would not accomodate any of Abramovich’s buys, with the striker making just one Premier League start all season. Now, it remains to be seen if he will even continue to be a Chelsea player beyond this summer.

That said, there are also reasons why Roman Abramovich could feel aggrieved at Conte’s frustrations. A move for Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko is thought to have been one of Conte’s top priorities and is expected to be concluded soon, giving the ex-Juve boss one of his targets early on in the window. That is even more important when considering the Blues will have fought off competition from the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United to secure his signature.

In addition, it looks likely that this summer could be the biggest investment that Abramovich has made in a single window since he bought the west London club. Given that his side were so successful last season, coming close to winning the double and winning the Premier League with weeks to spare, it may seem that such heavy spending is not necessary. Instead, the Russian has plowed money in to the side to make it even more competitive next season – particularly on the European stage.

Given the ongoing speculation linking Conte with a move to Inter Milan after the manager admitted that he missed his family, who have remained in Italy, Abramovich must be careful to keep his coach satisfied. Whilst he should have a deciding say in transfer targets, the Italian head coach must surely have been aware of the influence of the owner on the club’s transfer business when he arrived.

With those circumstances, and the huge spend that Chelsea look set to make this summer, Conte could be in a far worse position.

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