Antonio Conte reacts to Tiemoue Bakayoko’s start at Chelsea
Antonio Conte discusses midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko's start to life as a Chelsea player
Antonio Conte has told Tiemoue Bakayoko that he still has plenty of room for improvement following his arrival at Chelsea in the summer.
The midfielder joined the Blues from Ligue 1 champions Monaco in the summer as Chelsea then opted to sell Nemanja Matic to Manchester United.
Bakayoko has been a regular fixture in the Chelsea team alongside his French team-mate N’Golo Kane, with the 23-year-old having started two of the Blues’ four Premier League games.
The France international played the full 90 minutes as Chelsea made it three wins in a row in the Premier League on Saturday with a 2-1 victory at Leicester City.
And although Bakayoko has been gradually adapting to life in England, Conte feels that the midfielder still has plenty of work to do.
Conte told his post-match news conference at the King Power Stadium: “Baka is 23 years old – he is younger than N’Golo.
“Last season he played in France and now he is adapting to a new type of football, which is not easy. And also he is trying to adapt himself to our idea of football.
“I think he has great quality. Now he is very strong without the ball, but with work, I think he can improve a lot with the ball, like N’Golo.”
Chelsea return to Champions League action on Tuesday night when they take on Qarabag at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues are currently in third place in the Premier League table after having won their last three games, following their shock 3-2 loss to Burnley on the opening weekend of the new season.
Chelsea did not feature at all in Europe last season after their 10th-placed finish in the 2015-16 campaign.
