Chelsea Boss Antonio Conte Admits to Transfer Market Frustration During Career

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has said he has not often been given the players he has asked for during his managerial career, having worked at a number of clubs operating under "austerity programmes."

He told Sky Sport Italia (h/t Goal):

"I do not aim high with my requests, especially as in my history I've rarely been given the players I asked for. I always ended up at clubs who were running an austerity programme.

"I just try to do my work. If someone arrives, good, if they don't, then that's fine too. I have to continue my work, either way."

With the transfer window now open, Conte has been speaking about recruitment again, per ESPN FC's Liam Twomey:

Early in his coaching career, the 48-year-old managed Arezzo, Bari, Atalanta and Siena, only one of whom was in Serie A when he first took charge, so there was little to work with in terms of transfer funds.

Conte brought in over 30 players during his three seasons at Juventus, but the most expensive of those was Kwadwo Asamoah for £16.2 million, according to Transfermarkt.

He was also able to sign the likes of Carlos Tevez, Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal for the Bianconeri, though the latter two were relatively unknown quantities at the time, with Pogba departing Manchester United for free as a teenager and Vidal arriving from Bayer Leverkusen.

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Conte notably complained about a lack of spending power at the end of his time in Turin. Per Ian Herbert of The Independent, the Italian said: "You cannot eat at a €100 restaurant with just €10 in your pocket, can you?"

Chelsea have far more in the way of resources available to them.

Since joining, Conte has splashed out approximately £300 million in initial fees on nine players—N'Golo Kante, Michy Batshuayi, David Luiz and Marcos Alonso in his first summer, and Alvaro Morata, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Antonio Rudiger, Davide Zappacosta and Danny Drinkwater in his second.

According to TalkSport, the Blues' net spend of £75.7 million last summer was much lower than that of Manchester United and Manchester City but still the third-highest in the Premier League.

The manager spent much of the summer pushing for more in terms of recruitment, per NBC's Joe Prince-Wright:

Conte also appeared to be somewhat unhappy at the board's decision to allow Nemanja Matic to leave for United, per Sky Sports Premier League:

It seems he has not always been happy with the players the club have signed during his time at Chelsea either. Batshuayi is the most obvious example, having been restricted to just 14 senior starts since his arrival in 2016.

Conte's achievements at Juventus and Chelsea perhaps become even more impressive when his issues with recruitment are factored in, as they serve as a testament to his quality as a coach and ability to get the best out of what he has to work with.

The Blues have not been shy about spending during his time at Stamford Bridge, but they've evidently been more reluctant to splash out than their Manchester rivals, both of whom are above them in the Premier League this season.

Conte's performance warrants more backing from the club, who will need to be prepared to spend if they're to seriously compete with their rivals in the coming years.