Antonio Conte warns Chelsea stars it is crunch time over their Stamford Bridge futures
Italian will make final decision on who stays and who goes after Sundays last warm-up game against Werder Bremen
ANTONIO CONTE has warned his Chelsea stars it is crunch time for their futures.
The Italian will make a final decision on who stays and who goes after Sunday’s last warm-up against Werder Bremen.
That means players such as Juan Cuadrado, Oscar, Loic Remy and Diego Costa are running out of time to impress their new boss.
Conte said: “The season is close. I still need to work with my players. It’s important to have a very clear dea of who will play for me, for the club.
“I know the moment will arrive for me to choose the team, to make decisions over the players.
“The West Ham game is a bit far away now but not too far. There are less than two weeks to go.”
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Conte added: “I am joining Chelsea after they finished in 10th position, something that has not happened in the Roman Abramovich era. There is a lot of work to do.
"We have to improve in every area on the pitch because if you start behind the others it means you have to improve a lot.
“I would ask for patience because I don’t have a magic wand.”
Chelsea have bid £65million for Everton striker Romelu Lukaku – with Remy as a possible makeweight – and Conte hinted that a deal could be close to completion.
He added: “I think something can happen with the transfer market.
“We know that in the future different changes can happen, both in and out, with the players.”