The Italian manager, who has been widely reported to be the front runner for the managerial job at Chelsea next season, is set to have one final and decisive meeting with Blues owner Roman Abramovich next week in Monte Carlo.
The speculation around current Italy coach Antonio Conte’s imminent arrival at London as the Chelsea manager is reaching a head. It was recently reported that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich had already informed his Blues squad that the Italian would be their new manager, come the 2016-17 season.
According to Football-Italia, the Russian billionaire is set to have the final, decisive meeting with Antonio Conte next week in Monte Carlo. They are set to meet at a restaurant owned by Antonio’s brother Daniele, and an official announcement may soon be made on Conte’s appointment if the two parties agree to the terms.
The current Italian manager enjoyed huge success at Juventus, both as a player and as a manager. His managerial stint at the Bianconeri helped shape them into the force they are today. He led them to three successive Scudetto titles, before taking up the Italian job after the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
What’s on the agenda
Conte is known for his experiments with formations before striking upon a winning formula, and employed the 5-3-2 to great success in Turin. He will have to do a lot of tweaking at Stamford Bridge if he wants to create a team capable of playing in that formation, and could be digging into Abramovich’s transfer funds upon his arrival.
The Italian also moulded Manchester United’s prodigal son Paul Pogba into one of the best players in the world today. He will be expected to do something similar with Chelsea’s academy products. Apart from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, none of the Blues youngsters have managed to grasp a spot in the first team, and Conte could be changing that when he takes over from Guus Hiddink.
