'He's an animal': Roma captain Daniele De Rossi discusses life under Chelsea manager Antonio Conte

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is "an animal and a monster" when it comes to tactics but playing for him is "beautiful", according to AS Roma captain Daniele De Rossi.

The 34-year-old, who was linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in the summer, played under Conte when the latter managed Italy between 2014 and 2016 and revealed the current Blues boss is a very demanding boss.

"If one day I am to become a coach, I will take a lot from [Antonio Conte] and from Luis Enrique," the midfielder told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"He illuminated me, and it's not the first time I say that. It's not easy to be one of his players, but it's beautiful."

Italy arrived at last year's Euro 2016 amid fierce criticism, but despite being labelled as one of the worst Azzuri sides in decades they reached the quarter finals where they were only knocked out by Germany on penalties.

A staple of Italy's midfield for over 10 years, De Rossi was included in the squad but Conte only considered calling him up once the Roma midfielder had proved his fitness.

"He called me and told me, 'If you're 100 percent then you'll play, otherwise I'm not calling you up,' and I love people like that, who tell you the truth," he explained. "Tactically he's a monster, an animal.

"It was a great experience at the European Championship. Conte gave back to me the belief that I could still be a certain type of footballer; that I could still train at a feral rhythm, because when you work for him, either you run yourself into the ground and keep up with the pace, or you don't go anywhere."

Chelsea host the Serie A outfit on Wednesday night (18 October) in the third game of their Champions League campaign. The defending Premier League champions go into the fixture with a 100% record, after thumping Qarabag 6-0 at Stamford Bridge and securing a 2-1 win away against Atletico Madrid thanks to a last-minute winner from Michy Batshuayi.

Roma, on the other hand, have four points, after a draw at home with Atletico Madrid and a 2-1 win in Azerbaijan against Qarabag three weeks ago.

Chelsea will be looking to bounce back from Saturday's defeat at Crystal Palace, which saw Conte's side lose to a team that had previously lost each of their seven Premier League games without scoring a goal.

The West Londoners, however, could welcome back Alvaro Morata, after the Spaniard was a surprise inclusion in the matchday squad just over two weeks after injuring his hamstring against Manchester City on 30 September.

It was originally thought the Spaniard could be out for up to eight weeks but returned to training late last week and Conte suggested he could feature tomorrow.