Conte: Young players too impatient

Question marks were asked of the Italian after he allowed midfielders Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Nathaniel Chalobah to join Premier League rivals (Loftus-Cheek moved to Crystal Palace on loan and Chalobah joined Watford in a £5m deal) and then spent £40m on Monaco's Tiemoue Bakayoko. However, he has now hit back at his critics, labelling young players 'impatient'.

"Sometimes I think the young players lose their patience very quickly," he explained.

"A lot of the time because of parents or the people around them. I think the advisers aren't right."

The 47-year-old was adamant that the key requirement for talented youngsters is patience.

"The first thing they should have is good patience. Trust the club. Then work very hard to know that to play at this level you must be stronger - and very good," he said.

"Sometimes, young players think they can play easily in the first team, but that's not true. I have to pick 11 players. Not only me, every coach."

Looks like Chelsea's best and brightest may have to settle for loan spells once again this season.