ROME – It would appear that Antonio Conte has settled into life in England rather well. The former Juventus and Italy boss has been entertaining both supporters and the media with his touchline antics and his Chelsea team currently occupy fifth place in the table, just three points off the top.  

In a recent interview, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was quick to praise his Italian counterpart commenting, “he looks emotional, even when they don’t score. The very important thing is he is a great manager, something like the Pep Guardiola of Juventus if you will. He created their special type of play and had a very successful time there and with the national team.”

Next Sunday sees Chelsea face Manchester United and with the fixture comes the mouthwatering prospect of a return to Stamford Bridge for Chelsea’s once ‘special’ manager, Jose Mourinho. This clash will undoubtedly present the greatest challenge in Conte’s fledgling Chelsea career thus far and with comparisons to Mourinho filling the headlines, there seems like no better time to evaluate the Italian’s start to life at the Bridge.

Transfers: The signing of N’Golo Kante, Leicester’s midfield enforcer, has been a masterstroke. The Frenchman has continued where he left off last season and has looked a solid presence next to Nemanja Matic at the heart of Chelsea’s midfield. However, the addition of left-back Marcos Alonso and the re-signing of David Luiz for a combined fee of £53 million hints at desperation, especially when considering that Luiz was a deadline day signing. It has been widely reported that Juventus rejected a bumper bid for Leonardo Bonucci, a central defender known to be a Conte favourite and Chelsea target. Verdict 6/10

Results: After last season’s shenanigans involving Mourinho and his lack of dressing room support, Chelsea badly needed a good start this term to silence the baying mob of critics. Conte provided the required impetus, with his team winning three out of the first four games. A difficult period was to follow however, with Chelsea losing successive league games, 2-1 against Klopp’s Liverpool and 3-0 at the hands of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal. The Italian has successfully navigated the Chelsea ship into the fifth round of the EFL Cup and things are also on the up in the Premier League, after a duo of recent victories. Verdict 7/10

Media Relations: Despite his stilting English, Conte has been somewhat of a revelation in press conferences. The Italian isn’t afraid to speak his mind and following recent, unfounded rumours that his job may be under fire, he responded in typically bullish fashion observing, “pressure is part of our job. I’m trying to find out who put the money on!”

After Saturday’s impressive 3-0 win against defending Premier League champions, Leicester City, Conte suggested that he was beginning to identify the best team and formation for his Chelsea squad. In an engaging interview, the Italian told Sky Sports “It was a good game. From the start I asked them to play well with intensity and to try and do what we do in training. In the weeks we tried to find a solution that gave us more compactness. For this team and squad this system is the right fit. The coach must understand and find the right suit. We are like a tailor.” Verdict 9/10

Impact: In addition to his travails with players in the dressing room, one of Jose Mourinho’s major problems at the beginning of last season was a dramatic loss of form of his senior players on the pitch. Title winning heroes suddenly transformed into has-beens. This time round, Conte has certainly helped to bring about a return to form for playmaker Eden Hazard and striker Diego Costa, however questions remain about certain other Chelsea stalwarts. Branislav Ivanovic was a rock during Chelsea’s glory days, yet is frankly stealing a living as a top division right-back. Messrs Cahill and Terry provide a wealth of experience in the dressing room but can only be described as lumbering centre-backs, while Cesc Fabregas is yet to rekindle his best form. There are undoubtedly green shoots in Conte’s Chelsea squad, but the Italian must offload the dead wood to facilitate a return to the top. Verdict 7/10

For a man who has a long history of domestic success at Juventus and who only lost two home games during his entire tenure at the helm of the Bianconeri, the losses against Liverpool and Arsenal will have stung. Despite this, Conte is far too experienced to let defeats affect the team in the long run. The result and performance against Leicester provided the surest sign to date that Conte’s philosophy of aggressive pressing and solid shape is beginning to have an effect. If the Italian continues to build momentum, as he did at Juventus, Chelsea will be a difficult side to stop.

dtw