Chelsea's search to replace Jose Mourinho as the permanent manager of the London club could be coming to a close. After the Portuguese ended his second spell at the club in December, Chelsea have looked at the likes of Diego Simeone, and Massimo Allegri to replace the Special One. But Simeone has rejected their advances to stay at Atletico Madrid, and Chelsea are considered to be close to agreeing a deal with their next target.
It's not a huge surprise that the man in question that Chelsea want is Antonio Conte, the 46-year-old former Juventus great now managing the Italian national team.
Conte is reportedly looking for a return to club management after Euro 2016, and Chelsea are keen on the Italian who helped re-build Juventus after the match-fixing scandal that rocked Italian football. Talks are progressing between Chelsea and Conte's representatives, with the Italian looking to confirm his future before meeting with the Italian FA next month.
If rumours are to be believed, Roman Abramovich is looking to arm Conte with a huge war-chest of funds for transfers targets. The likes of Arturo Vidal and John Stones are high up on the list of targets Chelsea are looking at, and a budget of £130 million is being quoted by Bleacher Report this morning.
