With Chelsea considering who should take charge of the club from next season following the sacking of Jose Mourinho a list of top names have appeared.
The likes of Diego Simeone, Manuel Pellegrini and Carlo Ancelotti have all seen themselves linked with the position at Stamford Bridge but one man has jumped to the head of the queue.
Italian manager Antonio Conte has reportedly been offered the job of taking Chelsea forward from next season, although their has been no confirmation from either party that a deal is in place.
Our landlord here in The Transfer Tavern has been looking deeper into the history books to see what type of man and manager that the club could be about to name as the head coach.
He has come up with five things that the Chelsea fans should know about their potential new boss and it could prove to be an exciting time to be a Chelsea fan.
Hit Conte below to see FIVE things Chelsea fans should know about Conte!
[ffc-gallery]
[/ffc-gallery]
Just like Mourinho
Conte, being Italian, will provide the side with stability at the back, just like under previous manager Jose Mourinho they will be hard side to break down.
He will also install an ‘us against them’ mentality in his players much like the previous coach in the hot seat and he will not be scared to tell anyone what he thinks about decisions and performances.
You shouldn’t expect the same sort of pantomime displays in press conferences though.
Born winner
Conte has delivered trophies throughout his entire career as a player and a manager. As a player he won Serie A on five occasions, and is also a Champions League and UEFA Cup winner.
As a manager he led Juventus to three successive Serie A titles and won the Italian Super Cup twice. He’ll now be hoping to lead Italy to success in the European Championships, though that’ll be a tough ask.
Prior to his successes at Juve, he won Serie B during his time in charge at Bari.
A record breaker
Conte is no stranger to breaking records as he became the first Juventus manager, in his first season in charge, to go a season unbeaten and in doing so they became the first team to do so since AC Milan in 1991/92.
Also during his time at Juventus, he broke the record for most wins in a season at 33 and most points accumulated, 102, in his three successful seasons with the club.
He is learning English
Conte is beginning to learn English as he looks to adapt to life in England should he take over at Stamford Bridge.
News that he knows little English will strike fear into Chelsea fans, who saw their side struggle under Brazilian manager Felipe Scolari during his time in charge at Stamford Bridge.
Fortunately, it seems Conte is keen to ensure there isn’t any major problems in this area.
Favours 3-5-2
Conte’s favoured formation is a 3-5-2 shape.
It was the formation he used to great success during his time at Juventus and, although an unpopular choice for coaches in England, it will be interesting to see if he can get it to work in the Premier League.
It will be interesting to see who he plays in the wing back position, but one player who could thrive from a change of formation is Cesc Fabregas, who could revert to a Pirlo type role and link up with the attacking players.
