Speaking to the media today, Conte said the following things:

• “It is a pity” to lose Holland to England
  • “Steve [Holland] is a very good professional and has been helping me a lot because he has great experience with this club. It is a pity to lose him but I can understand his choice.”
• Howe is a great manager
  • “Eddie Howe is a really good manager, very young and doing very well with Bournemouth. If he continues in this way he can become a manager of a great team. I have studied Bournemouth and they are a good team with good organisation. They always try to play from the back and put on good pressure.”
• Ake (on loan from Chelsea) is doing well at Bournemouth
  • “He is playing well with Bournemouth, he is having a fantastic experience and improving a lot”
• “It’s a good test” without Kanté and Costa
  • “They are two important players but we are working very well this week to try to find a solution to play well and continue to win. It is a good test for us without two very important players.”
• Batshuayi is doing well
  • “Michy is working very well, but we must have patience to try to improve him. It is not easy to arrive in this league and to play, especially if you are a young player arriving in a new country. It is difficult to adapt as the league is very tough, very physical.”
• Conte gave his players three days off, and the suspended duo, Kanté and Costa, 4 days
  • “I gave them three days off because I thought my players deserved this after a really intense period where we played three games in only six days”