In a sensational bit of news, it has been revealed that Antonio Conte was not allowed to be a part of the Ross Barkley negotiations.
Yes, you heard that right.
But how can a manager not be part of a new signing?
Well, Barkely’s U-turn on Thursday was one of the most absurd bit of news that had come out of a transfer deadline day in quite some time. More so when a few reports claimed that Barkley had actually changed his mind mid-medical. Barkley later took to social media to clear the air and said that the deal did not reach such an advanced stage.
But why was it that Antonio Conte was not allowed to talk to Ross Barkley about his place in the first team and his role in the club’s future. According to a report in the Times, Conte was left out of the deal because of his failed talks with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain that very same week.
The Chelsea management felt that Conte had failed miserably in convincing Chamberlain to join them – as a result of which the English International has ended up at Liverpool. And with no time in their hands, Chelsea did not want the same blunder to be repeated again.
But the way we look at it, Chelsea might just have stopped Ross Barkley from joining the club by this foolish act. Every new player that is scheduled to join a new club always wants to have a chat with his new boss and vice versa. But here the scene was totally different.
Maybe it that is why Barkley had a change of mind and went back to the Goodison? We may never know.
But one thing we know for sure is the fact that the board has soured its relationship with the manager for sure. A few months ago there were several reports that Conte wanted to return back to Italy and by coming up with such foolish ideas, Chelsea might just be prompting the Italian to do so.
