Chelsea Reportedly Ready To Fire Antonio Conte
Current Premier League holders, Chelsea, is reportedly preparing to fire Antonio Conte, its ninth manager under the Abramovich era, according to a Newsweek report quoting a Spanish publication, Marca.
Conte was reportedly unhappy with the transfer business the club completed over the summer, missing out on Fernando Llorente and Antonio Candreva.
It seems now that Abramovich is once again fed up with his manager and has decided that he is ready to sack him.
It is reported that they are not even on speaking terms anymore and any communication between them goes through Marina Granovskaia, a director at the club.
Conte’s second season at the club has been far from a disaster. Chelsea is fourth in the Premier League, nine points short of Pep Guardiola’s rampant Manchester City, but looks set for the knockout stage of the Champions League.
The debate over the future of Diego Costa was the first sign of a strain on the relationship, with Conte close to leaving in the summer as he considered Abramovich’s actions to be disrespectful.
The situation has not improved. Conte is still struggling to improve relations with his players now, and there were tense moments both at half-time against Watford and again in Rome.
Conte knows that his club are considering other options for next season, some of whom are already coaching in the Premier League, although the former Juventus coach remains hopeful of keeping his team’s expectations of success alive this season.
Conte may be able to keep his job for yet another week, at least, if Chelsea are able to put up a convincing performance against Manchester United this weekend. Incidentally, Jose Mourinho, the United Manager has been sacked twice by Chelsea.