Although not officially announced it is widely rumoured that Italian national team coach Antonio Conte will take over as Chelsea manager after Euro 2016. If he is to indeed take charge, would the Italian be the right man to take the Blues back to the top of the Premier League?
Chelsea have had a torrid 2015-16 season. Sitting bang in mid-table and with nothing left to play for they are a team going through the motions, waiting for the season to be over and holidays to be had.
Once appointed Conte would have a massive job on his hands under scrutiny from owner Roman Abramovich as well as the club’s fans.
The longing for Jose Mourinho has subsided after the Portuguese’s latest stint with the club so Conte will not have that looming over his head in the same way that Andre Villas Boas or Carlo Ancelotti did.
The pressure from the fans will now come in the form of bringing back European football to the club that has been so successful on the continent over the past decade.
Conte does have pedigree in a situation just like this. After leading Siena to promotion to the Italian Serie A Conte took over at a struggling Juventus. As manager of the Old Lady the Italian led the Turin club to their first Scudetto in nine years, excluding those won in the calciopoli scandal.
In his first season in charge Conte led the team unbeaten through the campaign and reinstated some glory in a club rich with history but longing for former times.
He would then take the team to two more championships before leaving to take charge of Italy.
While his three seasons at Juventus may heavily weigh the pro column in his favour it is his managerial spells prior to that that would sit in the con side. Conte has never managed outside of his native Italy and although it is said he is taking English classes, he does not speak fluently.
Language may not affect such a multicultural team but knowledge will.
As he has spent all his time in Italy does the former Juventus midfielder have any knowledge of the English game and can he anticipate the media scrutiny he will be under in the country especially if he struggles with the language?
One of the things that endeared Mourinho not only to the Chelsea faithful but the English media was the way he controlled a press room. Conte will not have that same luxury and may be chastised for it.
If indeed Conte is to arrive in southwest London he will be given a war chest to tweak the squad as he sees fit but the pressure will be on immediately as the Blues look for success.
Without the worries of European football, Conte can focus solely on the domestic front giving him the best possible opportunity to bring glory back to Stamford Bridge. He has done it in Italy but the jury is still out as to whether he can do it in England.
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