Chelsea 3 Newcastle United 0: The Sunday newspapers may have made difficult reading for Chelsea and their Italian manager but the chants of ‘Antonio, Antonio’ ringing around Stamford Bridge during a routine 3-0 FA Cup fourth round victory over Newcastle suggest it is too early to write off Antonio Conte’s future in west London just yet. Transfer deadline day, mind you, looks likely to provide a better barometer.

Brighton 0 - Chelsea 4: Chelsea’s 4-0 victory at Brighton at the weekend has quietened the critics who suggested there was a crisis building at Stamford Bridge but it hasn’t ended speculation about their search for a striker after manager Antonio Conte challenged Michy Batshuayi to fill the void – but also left the door open for him to leave.

That abrupt White Hart Lane end to Chelsea’s winning run will not change the club’s thinking in the January transfer window. But manager Antonio Conte hopes John Obi Mikel will be the last Chelsea player tempted by Chinese riches.