If Tuesday’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport is to be believed, then Antonio Conte came close to cutting his time as Chelsea manager short last October.
With a few questions being asked about Stefano Pioli after getting beaten 3-1 at home by Roma at the weekend, the Italian newspaper look at some of the alternatives the club could consider in the summer.
However, Gazzetta report that in mid-October, Inter came close to getting one of their dream men early when Conte was ‘on the verge of a dramatic divorce with Chelsea’, due to having a difficult time adapting to England and struggling with some members of the club, including players.
At that stage, Inter Milan were already ‘regretting’ their choice of appointing Franck de Boer as their manager, and were looking elsewhere, which is when ‘indirect contact’ was made with Antonio Conte.
Unfortunately for the Serie A side, it all suddenly clicked for the Chelsea manager at Stamford Bridge, and the Blues shot to the top of the Premier League table, where they have remained for quite some time now.
With Conte now unlikely to leave London anytime soon, the attention in the summer, if Pioli were to be sacked, would turn to Diego Simeone, whose contract with Atlético runs out in 2018 and who has never hidden a desire to one day manage his beloved Serie A side.
Chelsea fans need not worry, it seems.
