Antonio Conte’s fragile future as Chelsea manager has been thrown into further doubt today, with the news that he is about to be approached to take over as the coach of Italy.
The 48-year-old had a successful spell as Azzurri boss between 2014-2016, guiding his country to the semi-finals of the European Championship in France.
Former AC Milan defender Alessandro Costacurta has been appointed to choose Italy’s next coach, and he revealed that he sees Conte as the outstanding candidate.
“I’ve not decided yet, but I think that the person who could do the best job would be Conte. I’ll definitely speak to him in a few month’s time. Conte has already shown that he knows how to be Italy coach, as we saw at the European Championships, whereas the others haven’t.” Costacurta said.
Conte had a hugely successful first season in England, winning the Premier League and reaching the FA Cup final. However, his relationship with the Stamford Bridge hierarchy has become strained over transfer policy and poor results on the pitch recently.
The general feeling is that Conte will leave Chelsea at the end of this season, although Italy will face stern competition from PSG to secure his services.