Transfer Rumor: Antonio Conte really likes Arturo Vidal

Chelsea coach Antonio Conte has added new fuel to the Arturo Vidal rumor machine. In his post match press conference after Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Brighton, the Italian praised the Bayern Munich midfielder. With Vidal continually being linked to the incumbent English Champions, Conte - who worked with the Chilean at Juventus - had this to say:

I must be honest, it's not right to talk about a player from another team - especially if you try to link this player with us.

Proceeding to ignore his own advice, he continued:

But [Arturo] is a fantastic player. I have a great respect for Arturo, and we spent many years in Juventus together. If we go to war, I'd always want him with me.

Not an unfair assessment to make. After all, Vidal isn’t called “The Warrior” for nothing. Signed by Bayern in 2015 for a fee of €37m, the Chilean has been a key player in the Bavarian midfield for two and a half seasons now. His contract expires in 2019, and there were reports in the summer that Bayern could be looking to offer him a new contract. Rumors that Vidal could be leaving Munich have been circling for several months now, with Chelsea, Inter, and AC Milan all interested.

On the Bayern side of things, Vidal has shown no indication that he wants to leave the Bavarian capital. Once again playing a key role, this time under Jupp Heynckes, Bayern fans will hope that the warrior has many more years left at the top level of world football.