Gianluca Vialli: Antonio Conte "looking forward" to leaving Chelsea

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 02 April 2018

Antonio Conte's position as Chelsea manager has become untenable and he is now "looking forward" to leaving the club, according to close friend Gianluca Vialli.

Former Chelsea player and manager Gianluca Vialli has claimed that Antonio Conte "is almost looking forward" to leaving the club in the summer.

The 48-year-old appeared to move closer to the Stamford Bridge exit following the Blues' 3-1 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend, effectively killing off their top-four hopes.

Conte hinted before the match that a lack of Champions League football next term may well spell the end of his time in West London, with ex-Barcelona boss Luis Enrique rumoured to have already been lined up to take charge in June.

Vialli, a close friend and former teammate of Conte's at Juventus, believes that the situation has now become untenable.

"There is no longer that sacred fire that characterised all of Chelsea's performances last season," he told Sky Sport Italia. "It seems to me that the attitude is different, maybe because they are not in the running for the title and so they stopped believing. I think Antonio has got problems such as sharing his choices with the club during transfers.

"I think the players see this. I would be surprised to see Conte at Chelsea next season because I think he is almost looking forward to leaving, and I also think that Chelsea want to change, they want something new, maybe a manager who is more of a corporate man - people have been talking about Luis Enrique."

Chelsea, eight points behind Tottenham in fourth, can still win silverware this season as they have an FA Cup semi-final against Southampton to come later this month.