Antonio Conte is one of the greatest managers Chelsea have had in the modern era.
For all of his flaws, Antonio Conte led Chelsea to a Premier League title in the 2016/17 season, just one year on from a terrible campaign under Jose Mourinho.
Conte worked wonders with Chelsea, and with Enzo Maresca under pressure at the moment, it’s interesting to ponder what this current Chelsea side would look like under Conte.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s Podcast, Joleon Lescott has made an interesting claim about Cole Palmer if he worked under Conte.
Palmer is one of the Premier League’s best players, but according to Lescott, the £40m man wouldn’t be starting for Chelsea if Antonio Conte was the manager still.
Indeed, Lescott reckons that Conte wouldn’t have liked Palmer for how much of a maverick he is, claiming that the Italian would’ve preferred to have a player who was more tactically drilled.
Cole Palmer wouldn’t start under Antonio Conte
Lescott spoke about the idea of Palmer working under Conte.
The pundit says that Conte wouldn’t be so keen on Palmer as he’d want a player that he could control and shape into his tactical style.
“Every coach that comes in will take them and plays them like Cole will entertain everyone. But there might be a coach, I don’t know if Cole plays for Conte and Chelsea when they win the league.
“Just because I don’t think he’s as reliable, not even reliable, I just think he probably would want more control over the end product. Conte would want that.”
“I don’t want the maverick. I want to know that if I’m saying you to do this, regardless of your individual brilliance, you’re just going to do that.”
Eden Hazard record under Antonio Conte
Lescott says that Palmer wouldn’t start under Conte due to how much of a maverick he is, but it’s hard to agree with that argument.
Indeed, as much as Conte is a tactician who will drill his team to the nth degree, there is room for mavericks in Conte’s system.
In fact, one of Chelsea’s best players during the Conte era was Eden Hazard, and there’s an argument to make that he was an even more individualistic player than Palmer is.
Hazard was brilliant under Conte, as the stats show.
| Eden Hazard record under Antonio Conte | |
|---|---|
| Games | 94 |
| Goals | 34 |
| Assists | 20 |
Another maverick player who thrived under Antonio Conte’s management was Paul Pogba at Juventus.
Pogba was never a system player, often playing the game at his own pace, but his talent overrode the need to be so rigid as a footballer.
If Conte was still at Chelsea, we’re sure he’d find a place for Palmer in his team.
