He remains the best man for Chelsea. His record since moving to Stamford Bridge is extraordinary

several occasions. Coaches of the calibre of Diego Simeone and Juventus’s Massimiliano Allegri are already being strongly linked with the Chelsea job.

But we should not ignore the fact there are also risks in regularly changing the coach, as we saw when Phil Scolari and Andre Villas-boas failed.

For me, Conte remains the best man for Chelsea. His record since moving to Stamford Bridge is extraordinary. Despite Manchester City’s incredible run, Conte has won exactly the same number of Premier League points (140) as Pep Guardiola since his appointment. He has also won more Premier League games (44 out of 61) than any manager.

Chelsea remain in both domestic cups, the last 16 of the Champions League and well placed to finish runners-up in what would be a satisfactory title defence. It is too quickly forgotten Chelsea finished 10th before Conte took over. Certainly, those Chelsea supporters booing the side after last weekend’s 0-0 draw with with Mourinho – a rival manager. In most circumstances, a club would cherish having such a figurehead, not mull over letting him go.

If Conte’s situation is precarious – the Chelsea hierarchy ambivalent on his future and Conte increasingly frustrated by the structure of the club – there will be a long queue for his services. I could imagine Real Madrid considering Conte as a replacement for Zinedine Zidane, whose position looks vulnerable. The Italian national team would beg him to go back after their failure to qualify for the World Cup.

There is talk of him returning to Italian football but, having managed the national team and led Juventus to three Serie A titles in a row, would heading home at this stage of his career be so appealing? He has nothing more to prove in his own country.

There is one club in particular, much closer to his