Chelsea ‘eyeing Antonio Conte’ to replace Liam Rosenior as next manager in surprise twist | Football | Sport

Conte is currently plying his trade in Italy with Napoli, but there has been talk surrounding a possible exit this summer. The Salento-born coach is under contract with Napoli until the end of next season, and was responsible for delivering the Serie A title to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona last year.

Conte has mentioned in conversations about the vacant national team position following the Azzurri’s latest World Cup qualification blunder. However, as per Calciomercato, Conte is said to be on the shortlist of prospective Rosenior replacements at Stamford Bridge.

Conte enjoyed a brief but successful stint in charge of the capital club between 2016 and 2018, with the ex-Juventus and Inter Milan coach guiding them to the league title in 2017. He was quickly moved out after things started to go downhill during Conte’s second season, with a complete breakdown in communication with the club’s board said to have been the reason.

Now, under new ownership, Todd Boehly and co. are said to be interested in bringing him back. But their shortlist could be dependent on whether Chelsea qualify for European competition next season, as the two-time European champions have given themselves an uphill battle to secure continental qualification.

With 34 matches played this season, Chelsea sit eighth in the Premier League table, level on points with Brentford and Fulham, and one outside the current qualification positions. That could change depending on how Aston Villa fare in the Europa League, but Chelsea currently find themselves in the midst of a terrible run of league form.

Their mid-week defeat away to Brighton marked the first time since 1912 that Chelsea lost five consecutive league matches. They face a crucial test against Nottingham Forest on Bank Holiday Monday, while a visit to Anfield awaits the weekend after.

Matches against Tottenham and Sunderland will close out the season for Chelsea, with Calum McFarlane set to take interim charge until then. Andoni Iraola is the current front-runner to take over in the summer, while Felpie Luis, Cesc Fabregas and Oliver Glasner are also in the running.

An outsider for the job is Frank Lampard, whose managerial stock rose after guiding Coventry City back to the Premier League. Lampard has been Chelsea manager on two separate occasions (one permanent, one interim), with some suggestions he could be tempted by a third crack of the whip.