Antonio Conte has admitted his preparations for Wednesday’s visit of Bournemouth have been severely disrupted by the uncertainty surrounding Michy Batshuayi’s future at Chelsea, with the club apparently no closer to securing a replacement for the Belgium international.
Batshuayi is one link in a complex chain involving Olivier Giroud and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ahead of transfer deadline day. The Belgian will be permitted to leave if Chelsea secure a replacement, potentially Giroud, and is wanted by Borussia Dortmund, who have allowed Aubameyang to travel to England ahead of a move to Arsenal. There remains the possibility that all three deals are scuppered by one of the prospective transfers stalling.
Chelsea had also enquired about Fernando Llorente at Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City’s Islam Slimani, but Giroud - another sounded out by Dortmund - seems their likeliest option. Talks appeared to have reached an impasse on Monday night, but have resumed since over a potential £17m deal. Yet, while that situation remains unresolved ahead of Wednesday’s deadline, Conte trained on Tuesday with Batshuayi as his central striker in the absence of the injured Álvaro Morata and Willian.
The head coach is painfully aware that the player could be withdrawn at the last, with the German transfer deadline at 5pm on Wednesday, if there is movement in negotiations. That would force him to field Eden Hazard as his No9 and thrust another midfielder, most likely Ross Barkley, into one of the wider positions up front.
“It’s not simple, this situation with Batshuayi,” said Conte. “There is only one day left in the transfer market, and the player knows very well the situation. Today he trained well and I prepared the game with him. But you don’t know what will happen tonight or tomorrow. We must be ready to face every situation. It’s not the best situation to face, but we have to.
“For sure, in this type of situation, the coach has to speak with the player involved. For now he’s a Chelsea player. For this reason, he’s in contention for tomorrow’s game. Also because I have Morata injured and I don’t have other options, especially as Willian is also injured. Hazard can play No9, so I’d need to find another No10. It’s not easy to prepare.”
Conte, who confirmed Edin Dzeko’s proposed move to Chelsea had collapsed, will welcome the Roma wing-back Emerson Palmieri to the club for an initial £17m, subject to a stringent medical given the player suffered an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury on the final day of last season. Yet the head coach, who has made clear he has limited input into Chelsea’s transfer policy, suggested he had not personally recommended the player to the recruitment department.
“I don’t remember Palmieri [from his time in Italy] because he only came to Italy last season [actually 2015], when he had an important season for Rome,” added Conte. “Then he had a bad injury. He broke his ligaments. Now he’s recovering. I don’t know if he’s ready to play. I know that he played only one game in the Italian Cup against Torino. But we are talking about a player of another team in this moment.”