Conte ready to go to war with Chelsea over contract payment

Chelsea Manager, Antonio Conte

Antonio Conte is reportedly ready to go to war with Chelsea over the final year of his £9million-a-year contract.

The Italian looks certain to leave Stamford Bridge this summer, but is said to have made it clear that he will not quit and has yet to receive any firm job offers.

The Blues chief will carry on insisting publicly that he wants to stay, despite the ever increasing doubts over his future, according to the report in the Daily Mirror.

It leaves Roman Abramovich with the prospect of having to pay Conte up if he will not leave and they want to replace him.

Chelsea have already been exploring alternatives, with Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri, Juventus manager Max Allegri and ex-Barcelona boss Luis Enrique all in the frame.

Sarri has already made it clear that he would like the job and is the favourite to replace Conte, but things could get messy as the former Juve chief is unlikely to go quietly.

Conte had been in the frame for a return as Italy national boss but Roberto Mancini now seems set for that job, while Thomas Tuchel is set to land the PSG post – another potential landing spot for Conte.

One potential outsider for the Stamford Bridge job could be Blues great Frank Lampard, who has admitted that he is on the lookout for a management role should the right opportunity arise.