Antonio Conte has revealed the three Roma players that he admires the most.
Conte's Chelsea side host Roma at Stamford Bridge in their third Champions League group fixture of the season, and given his successful stint in his native Italy as a player and a manager, Roma are a team that Conte knows very well.
Image: PA
What's more, Conte also tried to sign Roma's midfield maestro Radja Nainggolan in the summer and attempted to make him his second signing from Roma, having purchased defender Antonio Rudiger earlier in the window.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference, he said:
"It's not right to speak about players from other teams. We tried to buy him but, now, Nainggolan is a Roma player. I have great respect for him. He's a really good player - one of the best midfielders. But he's an opponent."
Nainggolan isn't the Giallorossi has "great respect" for, though. He was also pressed about which Roma player he would most like to have at Chelsea and selected two boyhood Roma fans in Daniele De Rossi and Alessandro Florenzi as well as Stephan El Shaarawy, formerly of AC Milan.
The former Juventus boss managed all three during his time in charge of the Italian national team:
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"It's always difficult to answer these sort of questions. It's a group that counts. Within the group, you've got some very good players.
"There are three players that I know really well - [Daniele] De Rossi, [Alessandro] Florenzi and [Stephan] El Shaarawy, because I know their hearts. And if I could steal a bit of their hearts it would be very helpful."
Images: PA
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Chelsea are leading the way at the moment in Group C, having accrued maximum points from their games against Qarabag and Atletico. Roma lie in second after picking up a draw and one win in Europe thus far.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Chelsea, Football, Serie A, AS Roma, Champions League, Italy, Antonio Conte