Antonio Conte’s position as manager of Chelsea has been the subject of intense speculation for several months now, and although it is commonly accepted that he will no longer be at Stamford Bridge next season, it seems the Italian coach and The Blues board are stuck in something of a standoff with neither party prepared to move first.
The former Juventus coach enjoyed a superb first season in English football guiding his team to the Premier League title. However, his relationship with Chelsea’s board has turned sour during this campaign due to a falling out of transfer policy and poor results on the pitch.
As we reported earlier Conte’s representatives are due to open negotiations with PSG about him taking over as the French sides manager from Unai Emery this summer.
It seems though, that the Italian coach does not want to resign from his post as Chelsea boss and the club themselves do not want to sack him, in order to avoid having to pay a large compensation package.
The situation has left both Conte and Chelsea in limbo as respected Times journalist Gabriel Marcotti explained today.
“I think as everybody knows, he’s got another year left on his contract,”
“I don’t think he wants to resign, but I don’t think he necessarily wants to stay either, and I don’t think the club wants him to stay either, but they don’t want to sack him.
“Once that whole thing gets cleared up, he’s going to need a home, a place to go. Given the type of guy he is, he wants another top club, and in that sense Paris Saint-Germain would make sense if Unai Emery goes – which we sort of expect will happen.” Marcotti told the Sunday Supplement.
