Antonio Conte can't have expected to embark on such a frustrating summer after winning the Premier League in May.

Chelsea may have spent over £180million, but the Italian missed out on a number of key targets and will also have to deal with Diego Costa's continued presence at Cobham.

Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley, and Fernando Llorente all rejected the chance to join the champions.

The thing that irked the Blues' boss the most, however, was the sale of Nemanja Matic, who joined Manchester United in a £40million deal in July.

The Serbian international seemed to have been sold above the manager's head, with Conte telling a press conference:

"Sometimes you must accept different decisions. But he is a great loss for us."

Even if the 28-year-old had been a little inconsistent in the two seasons leading up to his departure, it still came as a surprise to many when Roman Abramovich allowed him to join a title rival.

Conte has filled the hole left in the squad by firstly bringing in Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco and following that up with the addition of Danny Drinkwater on Deadline Day.

The former Leicester man's arrival has divided opinion as while he does have title-winning experience, he's probably not the most glamorous midfielder in the world and wasn't deemed good enough for United when he left in 2012.

Conte wasn't impressed 

Journalist Duncan Castles has now confirmed what we all suspected: that Conte didn't really want the England international, and he doesn't think he's the same level of player as Matic.

Speaking on the Transfer Window podcast, Castles explained:

"He’s not the player Conte wants as a second midfielder. Conte’s position was that he would be happy to accept Matic being sold but he would want to get two replacements – Bakayoko which he got and a player of similar quality.

"Conte won’t be provided with the replacement he wants, which is what Chelsea are doing across the entirety of the team.”

What's even more infuriating is that Matic has had a big impact at Old Trafford since reuniting with Jose Mourinho.

You'd think after seeing Chelsea cruise to the title last season, Abramovich would let Conte have a free rein when it comes to transfers. Apparently not.

What do you make of the Drinkwater signing? Have your say in the comments.