Chelsea line up Thomas Tuchel as Antonio Conte replacement over fears of losing the Italian
Antonio Conte‘s Chelsea future is reportedly in doubt as he stalls on signing a new contract due to ongoing frustrations with the way the club is being run ahead of next season.
The Italian tactician does not currently see his squad as capable of retaining their Premier League title whilst also competing for the Champions League, and is demanding substantial changes to the setup.
Conte only joined Chelsea last summer after success with Juventus and the Italian national team, and guided the Blues to the Premier League title and FA Cup final in his first campaign in charge.
However, things appear to be turning sour as the 47-year-old is unhappy with four key areas of the club’s running, mostly in relation to their activity in the transfer market.
According to the Daily Record, Conte is said to be demanding a direct line of communication to Abramovich and influential transfer chief Marina Granovskaia as one of his priorities.
Conte is also keen to revamp his coaching staff, the whole of Chelsea’s academy, and feels owed improved financial terms after his immediate success at Stamford Bridge.
The former Juve boss’ current contract runs until 2019 but it was claimed at the end of the season that an extension to that deal was looking imminent.
However, that is yet to be announced by Chelsea and they now fear they could face the embarrassment of losing their manager early, with former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel already being considered as a potential replacement.
The champions do have reason to fear Conte’s willingness to walk away from the club is genuine, as he made decisions to leave both Juventus and Italy relatively suddenly, with his situation in Turin not dissimilar to the one now unfolding in west London.
Previous Chelsea managers Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti have also seemed to struggle to forge a strong and effective working relationship with owner Abramovich despite delivering title success.
