Antonio Conte says there is no bad blood with Watford rival Walter Mazzarri
Antonio Conte insists there will be no lingering bad blood in the Premier League with old sparring partner and new Watford boss Walter Mazzarri.
Conte clashed repeatedly with Mazzarri in Italy's Serie A, but the new Chelsea manager claimed their relationship is now "normal".
Former Napoli boss Mazzarri had previously hinted that Conte had borrowed elements of his tactical approach when coaching Juventus.
That prompted a niggly denial from Conte, before Mazzarri battled to smooth things over with an explanation of his original comments. Now though, Conte is adamant there will be no issues between the pair in the Premier League.
"I saw (Mazzarri) in the managers' meeting, and also Claudio Ranieri," said Conte, ahead of Chelsea taking on Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
"I spoke with him about this new experience, this is a great challenge also for him. I saw him very focused about this experience.
"When we were in Italy and we fought for the title, Juventus against Napoli, yeah, but when you stay up and you are fighting for the title everyone fights for their club.
"But the relationship is very normal, I have great respect for him and his work. I think he's a good manager."
Asked if he will shake Mazzarri's hand ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash, Conte said: "Yeah. I saw him during the meeting. We spoke with him and the assistant coach."
Juan Cuadrado has consistently been linked with a return to Juventus, where he spent last term on loan.
Conte had fought hard to bring the Colombia forward back to Chelsea on his Stamford Bridge arrival, and insisted Cuadrado remains a Blues player as things stand.
Conte reiterated his position that Chelsea are "waiting for the right solution" ahead of further transfers before the window closes.
When asked why Cuadrado was not in the squad for Monday night's 2-1 win over West Ham, Conte replied: "For Cuadrado we are waiting, we are waiting on the situation, because the situation must become more clear about his position.
"Now he is Chelsea's player, today he had training with us."
Sunderland defender Younes Kaboul and Juventus midfielder Roberto Pereyra are undergoing medicals at Watford on Friday, manager Mazzarri has confirmed.
The Black Cats on Thursday revealed they had accepted a bid from the Hornets for former Tottenham centre-back Kaboul after he had asked to leave the Wearside club for personal reasons.
Argentina international Pereyra, meanwhile, has been heavily linked with a move to Vicarage Road having helped Juve win the domestic double in each of the past two campaigns.
Mazzarri revealed the pair were undergoing medical checks at the club's training ground, but did not want talk of the likely imminent deals to distract his team as they prepare for Saturday's visit of Chelsea.
"Yes. From what I heard, yes," he said, when asked if the medicals were taking place. "But I know that players, if there are other talks before the game, they can be distracted so now I just want to concentrate on the game.
"I don't like to talk about transfers the day before a game, but now I want to concentrate on the game for (Saturday) and then from Monday I will speak about those players.
"I say this because this afternoon after the training, the squad will be available for (Saturday) and I don't want the players to be distracted from other things."
Source: PAR
