Antonio Conte directed more thinly-veiled criticism at Chelsea's transfer policy by claiming that he is a "disaster" at convincing the clubs he works for to buy the players he wants.

Tensions between Conte and the Chelsea hierarchy have been building since last summer when the club director and dealmaker Marina Granovskaia could not find a way to prise Alex Sandro from Juventus and Manchester United hijacked the Blues' proposed move for Romelu Lukaku.

Other players recommended by Conte, most notably Leonardo Bonucci and Fernando Llorente, were dismissed by Chelsea as being too old to fit the broader remit of refreshing the squad with younger players who can grow at Stamford Bridge and accumulate in value.

Chelsea did not compete with Liverpool or United for headline names Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Sanchez in January, instead they reinforced Conte's squad options with Ross Barkley, Emerson Palmieri and Olivier Giroud for a combined outlay of just over £50 million.

"I think I'm a bit of a disaster to convince the club to buy the players. 

"In this aspect I can improve a lot. I have to learn a lot from the other coaches, the other managers, in that aspect. I have to speak more with the managers who are very, very good to persuade their clubs to spend money and buy top players."