The future of Mauricio Pochettino as Chelsea manager remains unclear, with the London club languishing in 11th place in the Premier League table.
The Blues’ plans to potentially sell Conor Gallagher this summer is another reason why the relationship between the board and Pochettino are not strong at this stage.
As exclusively revealed by TEAMtalk, Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi is one manager admired by Chelsea chiefs, but it may prove difficult to lure him away from the San Siro.
However, fresh reports suggest that another Italian coach is on the Blues’ radar, and he is someone that supporters are very familiar with.
According to journalist Massimo Ugolini, Antonio Conte, who led Chelsea to their last Premier League title in 2017, could be an option to replace Pochettino.
Conte has been without a job since being sacked as Tottenham manager in March 2023 but looks set to return to football in the near future.
Conte spent two years at Chelsea between 2016 and 2018 and led them to Premier League and FA Cup glory.
The 54-year-old has been a serial trophy winner throughout his managerial career and some members of the Chelsea hierarchy remain big admirers of his, per reports.
It’s fair to say that he endured a frustrating time with Tottenham, however. Conte helped Spurs qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2019-20 but failed to replicate that success in his second season with the North London outfit.
The coach was ultimately sacked after describing the Spurs players as “selfish” amid a poor run of form.
“Tottenham’s story is this. Twenty years there is the owner and they never won something, but why? The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stay[s] here?”
Ugolini believes that Conte’s return to management is now just around the corner after 12 months out of the game, with a return to Chelsea not off the cards.
“Conte could even return to Chelsea,” the journalist said.
“He would be welcomed back with great enthusiasm. Watch out for Juventus too. In this spending-review phase, it’s not as if they couldn’t afford him.”
If Pochettino is removed from his post as Chelsea boss in the coming months, Conte is certainly one manager for fans to keep an eye on.