Antonio Conte defends ‘honest’ Danny Drinkwater against England criticism

Antonio Conte believes Gareth Southgate could have avoided the “misunderstanding” that led to Danny Drinkwater receiving criticism for his failure to join up with England last week.

Drinkwater’s commitment was questioned after England coach Southgate explained the Chelsea midfielder, who had withdrawn from the previous two squads, was unavailable because the player did not feel he was ready to be involved after an injury-scarred start to his career at Stamford Bridge.

But Conte pointed out the 27-year-old, who has been restricted to just 103 minutes of action for his new club since joining from Leicester in the summer, aggravated his long standing calf injury in the defeat of Manchester United immediately before the international break and insisted the confusion would not have arisen had Southgate picked up the phone and called him.

“Sometimes there is a way, very easy, because before to think to call someone, try to call the coach and to ask 'is it ok, I can do this?'”, said Conte. “I am telling you this because I was coach for the national team. In this way you can avoid a misunderstanding because about Drinkwater it was a misunderstanding.

“He was injured and also he wasn't really 100 per cent fit to go with the national team. If someone asks me I can explain and if the coach wants to take the same decision it is ok but it is important to have more relationship between the coach and the coach of the national team but it was the same for us with Eden Hazard and then I spoke with Roberto Martinez (Belgium coach) and then he played yes.

“I am ready to help every single national team coach because I had this fantastic experience and I understand very well the problems and I am more open than before when I was the coach of Juventus but sometimes there isn't the communication.”

He added: “It's a pity that a player had to pay for this misunderstanding. Drinkwater was very honest and he doesn't deserve to be attacked because he was very honest. In this situation every single player wants to go with the national team. We have to appreciate his behaviour and commitment.”

Conte insists he has no regrets about allowing Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham to go out on loan this season, despite both players impressing on their international debuts after being called up by Southgate last week.

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Loftus-Cheek, currently at Crystal Palace, particularly stood out during a man-of-the-match performance against Germany but Conte maintains there is a significant difference between an international friendly and a competitive senior fixture, and maintains the midfielder’s development is best served by playing regularly at Selhurst Park.

“Ruben wanted this decision to go and play regularly,” said Conte. “For Ruben it was the best solution for him. It is the best for Abraham.

“I was very happy for this call in the national team. Don't forget that these are friendly games and I was a coach in the national team and this is the right moment to give opportunity to young players. You have to understand there are two different moments. If I call a young player during World Cup qualifier it means that I think this is one thing. It is a different pressure. We must be intelligent to understand these two situations. For the club the result is always important otherwise sack the manager. It is totally different.”

Conte admitted David Luiz will return to the squad for today’s trip to face West Bromwich Albion after omitting the defender from the meeting with United, but gave a strong hint the Brazilian will be on the bench with youngster Andreas Christensen set to start. “For sure every game I have to try to make the best decision for the team and Christensen played a really good game against United in a big game and he is showing great maturity” he said.