Antonio
Conte says he is involved in daily discussions with Chelsea's board over how
to strengthen his squad ahead of the new season.
Nathan Ake, Nathaniel Chalobah and Bertrand Traore have all left Chelsea
during this transfer window, while the futures of Diego Costa and Nemanja
Matic remain unclear.
Conte has spent more than £100m to sign Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid,
Antonio Rudiger from Roma and Tiemoué Bakayoko from Monaco, but the Chelsea
head coach is keen to make further additions this summer.
"With the club we speak every day about the way to strengthen this team and
the squad," Conte said during Chelsea's visit to Singapore.
"The club knows very well which is my idea and where are the positions to
strengthen, and if this is possible, it is okay. If not, we continue this
way.
"It's normal for every big team to try and reinforce its squad, to improve
in the numerical aspect and to improve the quality. I think this is normal.
For sure, in England next season, it will be a great challenge for all the
teams."
Conte is set to hand Morata his first start in Sunday's pre-season friendly
against Inter Milan, after Chelsea's record-signing came off the bench to
provide an assist for Michy Batshuayi in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to Bayern
Munich.
Conte also indicated Germany international Rudiger is likely to see his
first taste of action as part of a strong Chelsea side for Sunday's match,
which concludes the club's pre-season tour to Asia.
He said. "Rudiger can play one part of the match. He has only trained with
us for two days.
"It is very important to bring my players in a good fitness as soon as
possible. For this reason, we play with the best starting 11 [against
Inter]."
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