Conte has discussed with Chelsea owner Abramovich the fading ability of the players that won the league under Mourinho

Antonio Conte has told Roman Abramovich that the Chelsea squad that won the Premier League two seasons ago needs to be dismantled and rebuilt because many of the surviving players are incapable of regaining their title-winning form.

It is understood that Conte and Abramovich had lunch at the club’s training ground for the third successive day yesterday, during which they discussed how to overhaul a group of players who were champions just 14 months ago.

Abramovich is believed to be sympathetic to Conte’s requests after watching Chelsea suffer comprehensive defeats by Liverpool and Arsenal in their last two Premier League matches, particularly as the new manager did not demand wholesale changes when he took charge of the club in the summer. Conte was only able