Costacurta expects Conte to struggle at Chelsea

Former Italy international Alessandro Costacurta expects Antonio Conte to struggle at Chelsea because of the differences between working in Serie A and Premier League.

Conte enjoyed a successful spell with Juventus between 2011 and 2014 – winning Serie A three times – before taking the Italy job after the 2014 World Cup.

He will take over from interim manager Guus Hiddink – who assumed charge following Jose Mourinho’s departure in December – at Stamford Bridge after Euro 2016.

But former AC Milan defender Costacurta, who featured alongside Conte for Italy between 1994 and 1998, fears his former international team-mate might find it hard to settle at Chelsea.

“I foresee some difficulties because the English mentality is not suitable for a manager so obsessed with details,” Costacurta told Omnisport.

“Even [Claudio] Ranieri said that in England you can’t work exclusively on tactics but on something else.

“I guess Conte will have trouble to settle down. He won’t find the same environment and mentality he came across at Juventus five years ago.”