All is well in the state of Conte and Chelsea

Let’s do one more post on this whole thing, since Simon Johnson of the Evening Standard runs down the situation quite clearly and succinctly in his report earlier on Thursday, as well as in this tweet from the day prior.

Not only can the stories be ignored — as much as anything can be ignored in the rumor mill echo chamber — but this report is just the latest to confirm that preliminary contract talks are underway (with the assumption that Conte will sign the extension after the season’s over), while also repeating what we’ve heard several times before about Conte’s family intending to move and join him in London permanently (or at least as long as he has a job at Chelsea) starting in the summer.

Conte, however, is fully focused on making his career at Chelsea a success and is not looking to leave. [...] Talks have begun, although it is unlikely any agreement will be announced before the end of the season. Significantly, Conte’s wife Elisabetta and his daughter are moving to London from Italy on a permanent basis in the summer.

Conte has also started briefing the club on signings he would like, with owner Roman Abramovich prepared to back him.

-source: Evening Standard

Meanwhile, the Chelsea head coach and the Chelsea Board are already starting to plan for next season, both in terms of transfer targets and in terms continuing to build a new culture to resume the winning tradition.

“When your name is Chelsea, you must always fight to win the Champions League, the Premier League, the FA Cup, all the competitions.”

-Antonio Conte; source: Evening Standard

Forza!