Chelsea boss Antonio Conte emerges as leading candidate for surprise job with Champions League giants

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has reportedly emerged as one of the leading candidates to replace Zinedine Zidane as manager of Real Madrid.

The Italian tactician has impressed greatly at Stamford Bridge, winning the Premier League title and reaching the FA Cup final in his first season in charge of the Blues last term.

Still, things have not gone quite as smoothly for Conte this season, with growing speculation that the former Juventus boss could be on his way out between now and the end of the campaign.

The Times have previously claimed that Conte is planning to leave Chelsea due to a fractured relationship with the club’s board, while Yahoo Sport have suggested he could even be sacked by Roman Abramovich before then.

Could Real Madrid replace Zinedine Zidane with Chelsea’s Antonio Conte?

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These rumours have died down as Chelsea’s form has improved recently, but Don Balon now claim Real Madrid are interested in snapping up the 48-year-old.

Zidane is also under pressure in his job this season after a slow start to the season in La Liga, with Don Balon suggesting Germany boss Joachim Low could also be in contention to replace the Frenchman in the near future.