Frank Lampard urges Chelsea to end Antonio Conte speculation
Chelsea legend Frank Lampard has urged his former club to put an end to speculation over Antonio Conte's position at Stamford Bridge.
A recent report suggested that Thomas Tuchel could take over the managerial reigns in west London with Conte in a fallout with the Blues' hierarchy with regards to the transfer business.
Lampard, who is now a pundit with BT Sport, has suggested that the Blues have always had a good association between the manager and the club's officials, and this is nothing new to Antonio Conte, who is used to a similar style of management in the Serie A.
"There are suggestions that Conte wants more control, but that is not really how it works at Chelsea. There is a big link between the manager and the people behind the scenes, but Chelsea has a structure that has been successful in the last few years and managers coming in understand that. He is a very driven manager, we saw that last year and it is clear he wants to add to the squad and wanted more players in by now," the Blues all-time top-scorer said.
The former England international had given an opinion prior to this week's transfer deadline, and the Blues have since bolstered their ranks with the signings of Danny Drinkwater and Davide Zappacosta. Conte had initially eyed a move for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to occupy the wing-back position, but the Englishman was keener on playing in a central midfield role which lured him to Liverpool from Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Ross Barkley was another who could have slotted into the centre of the park, but the Everton midfielder had a change of thought on the transfer as he was still recuperating from a hamstring problem sustained earlier in August.
Barring their opening day defeat to Burnley, Chelsea have got their title hunt back on track with victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Everton, who are both considered as genuine challengers for a European qualification spot.