Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is unlikely to stay at Stamford Bridge for the remainder of the three years on his deal with the club, claimed the Sunday Supplement panel.
The Italian tactician is well on course to deliver a Premier League title in his first season in charge in west London, while he could yet complete a domestic double with the FA Cup.
However, despite that success since turning things around in September following back-to-back defeats to Arsenal and Liverpool, speculation continues to link the 47-year-old with a return to Italy.
With three years remaining on his current deal, Matt Law of The Daily Telegraph told Sky Sports that he doesn’t see Conte lasting until the end of it as he doesn’t feel as though he’s fully bought into life in London.
“There is a feeling with him – his family have still not moved over with him yet. They were going to come over in Christmas, but either his daughter or wife were studying, so they did not come over – that he has not put proper roots down and that this will not be a four or five-year (project).
“I think this time next year he could go, but Chelsea managers coming in and out of the door, it works for them and it works for Chelsea.”
Law continued by discussing the links with Inter, but that still seems problematic for many given Conte’s history with Juventus both as a player and a manager.
It would be a major shock to see him join their bitter rivals, and so that could arguably be ruled out regardless of the money and promises that the Nerazzurri’s wealthy owners throw at him.
Nevertheless, the appeal to be home and with his family could outweigh all that and so it sets up an intriguing situation in which Chelsea may well be looking for a new coach sooner than many expect.