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Antonio Conte urges Charly Musonda to 'keep his mind on the pitch' after social media outburst

The Belgium forward earlier this week expressed his frustrations against Chelsea over a lack of first-team opportunities

Samuel Lovett
Friday 13 October 2017 13:53 BST
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Charly Musonda has been told to look to the example of Andreas Christensen
Charly Musonda has been told to look to the example of Andreas Christensen

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has urged Charly Musonda to “keep his mind on the pitch and not social media” after the player expressed his frustrations online at the lack of first-team opportunities at the club.

The Belgium forward, who has remained with Chelsea this term after an underwhelming spell at Real Betis, on Monday night posted a cryptic message on Instagram in which he appeared to vent his annoyance at getting “literally nothing” back from the club.

The post was later removed and it’s understood Musonda was subsequently told to look at the examples of Andreas Christensen, Tammy Abraham and Ruben Loftus-Cheek for a pathway into the Premier League champions' first team.

Conte reiterated this message in his Friday press conference in which he stressed there would be opportunities ahead for Musonda to stake a claim in Chelsea’s first-team squad.

“He is a talented player,” he said. “I am sure about his career if he keeps his mind on the pitch and not social media.

"I think Charly could have a good opportunity to play. We have only three other No 10s and two usually play.

"I think Christensen can be a good example [for Musonda]. After two years on loan, now he is ready to play."

When asked if there is a pathway for academy players to break into the first team, he said: “Yes, we did that last season. This season we started to give the opportunities [for them] to play in the Carabao Cup.”

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