Phil Thompson Believes Antonio Conte Is Angry With Chelsea After Missing Out on Defensive Target

Liverpool legend Phil Thompson has told The Daily Star that he believes Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is unhappy with the club after missing out on Virgil van Dijk.

The Dutchman, who was a target for the Blues and leaders Manchester City signed for Liverpool in a £75m deal, a world record fee for a defender. There have been signs the Blues could use a solid centre-back this season, and Sky Sports pundit Thompson believes Conte will be unhappy with the club's failure to outbid the Reds for Van Dijk.

He said: "Antonio Conte needs strengthening in all areas of his team, with David Luiz out of favour. They are another side who were probably looking to entice Virgil van Dijk, so Conte will probably be questioning why Liverpool were able to outbid themselves with such an outlay and they may feel disappointed they missed out there."

Thompson added: “I think that will upset the manager and the fans as they don't want to be left behind.” 

Conte was in a similar situation during his final year at Juventus, where unhappiness over the club's transfer dealings led the Italian to resign at the end of the season.

Chelsea visit rivals Arsenal on Wednesday, now second in the table after four wins in five games but still trail leaders Manchester City by a whopping 14 points.