Chelsea still planning Antonio Conte contract extension after manager agrees improved terms

New deal: Antonio Conte has signed a new two-year deal at Chelsea
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Simon Johnson19 July 2017

Chelsea are still planning to offer Antonio Conte a contract extension in the future, despite the Italian signing a new two-year deal .

The coach’s new contract included a pay rise to £9.5million after winning the Premier League in his first season with the club.

The fact Conte did not commit to staying any longer than his previous contract, which expires in 2019, has led to speculation over his long-term future at the club.

Conte has been frustrated over the lack of signings this summer and was furious to miss out on Romelu Lukaku, who moved to Manchester United for £75m from Everton.

It was reported in Italy that the 47-year-old was even considering quitting over the situation.

There have been suggestions that Chelsea have not awarded Conte a four-year contract in case there is a repeat of what happened to Jose Mourinho in 2015, fired just four months after signing a new deal.

But Standard Sport understands both parties are happy with the two-year deal and believe there is plenty of time to talk over the next couple of years over a longer contract.

Significantly, Chelsea have also agreed to Conte’s demands to extend his coaching staff and allowed him to choose his own men, fellow Italians Paulo Vanoli and Davide Mayotte.

Vanoli is joining as his assistant as a replacement for outgoing Steve Holland, who is now with the England senior side. Mayotte has been hired to help primarily with player analysis.

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Conte admitted at the end of the last season that while he wanted to stay at the club for years an extension was not a priority.

However, by agreeing to pay him a much bigger salary, making him the most expensive manager in Chelsea’s history, he has been given the recognition he felt his achievements deserved.

Last year he was on £6.5m a year, which was considerably less than Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola at Manchester United and Manchester City respectively.

​Conte met with owner Roman Abramovich earlier this month to talk about possible signings.

The 47-year-old wants at least six signings to strengthen the squad that will be playing in the Champions League as well as the three domestic competitions next term.

But only three have arrived in Willy Caballero, Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko.

Neither Bakayoko nor Rudiger were part of the 25-man Chelsea squad that arrived in Beijing on Wednesday at the start of the Far East tour. The former is working on his recovery from a knee problem, while Rudiger has been given extended time off and will join them in Singapore next week.

Diego Costa, Nemanja Matic and the injured Eden Hazard are also absent, while Kurt Zouma is finalising a move to Stoke.

The travelling party has a number of youth and fringe players in it, which has made the need for Chelsea to spend in the transfer marker all the more obvious with the club’s first Premier League game against Burnley less than four weeks away.

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