Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich angry with Antonio Conte, replacements lined up
ANTONIO CONTE is walking a tightrope at Chelsea after angering owner Roman Abramovich.
Posted Friday, January 26, 2018 by Dailystar.co.uk
Antonio Conte has annoyed Roman Abramovich after his latest outburst
The Stamford Bridge owner is raging after Conte claimed that the club’s signings this season were nothing to do with him.
Conte is widely expected to leave at the end of the season but his rant could now speed up his Stamford Bridge exit.
Sources close to the billionaire claim Abramovich was upset at Conte’s public outburst following their Carabao Cup defeat to Arsenal and behind the scenes the club are adamant Conte has been consulted over player deals.
Sunday’s home FA Cup tie against Newcastle now looks crucial to Conte’s future.
Starsport can reveal French giants Paris St-Germain are well aware of the unrest and could offer Conte an escape route.
The Italian national side are also keen to have Conte back with the job still vacant.
The Blues have already pinpointed out-of-work former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique as a likely replacement, with ex-manager Carlo Ancelotti also a possible candidate.
Conte let rip after his team lost 2-1 at The Emirates to miss out on a Wembley final.
The defeat saw the west Londoners’ current poor run extend to just one win in seven games, with Abramovich having axed previous bosses after far less disappointing runs.
Antonio Conte is expected to leave Chelsea at the end of the season
Conte was clearly out of make a point on Wednesday when he said: “I think the club decide our transfer market.
"My task is to try to improve the team. About the transfer market, from the summer, the club decides every single player.
"For sure, I don’t have a big impact on the transfer market.”
In the summer, the champions landed Alvaro Morata, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Danny Drinkwater, Antonio Rudiger and Davide Zappacosta for close to £200m.
This month they have signed only Ross Barkley from Everton and it is understood the midfielder was not a player Conte had asked for.
Edin Dzeko to Chelsea is looking increasingly desperate
Reports have emerged from Chelsea that Conte is now a far cry from the happy coach of last season, and is constantly in a bad mood behind the scenes, even being grumpy with the Italian coaching contingent at the club.
The Blues are in the process of wrapping up a double move for Roma’s Edin Dzeko and Emerson Palmieri and it appears from Conte’s comments he was not behind the double deal either.
One spin-off from Conte’s issues with Chelsea has been Brazil centre back David Luiz’s decision not to try to force a move away from the club.
Luiz had a major falling-out with Conte in October and has had just 32 minutes of action in the Premier League since.
The 30-year-old is prepared to stay at Chelsea bas he is convinced the club will have a new manager for next season at the very latest.
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