Chelsea left with costly Conte exit or civil war
Agent says United striker wants to go Tottenham and Chelsea interested
Chelsea are facing up to the fact there will be no easy, or cheap, way out of their managerial deadlock following Real Madrid’s decision to appoint Julen Lopetegui.
Lopetegui’s controversial switch, which resulted in him being sacked by Spain on the eve of the World Cup, all but rules out the prospect of a mutual split between Antonio Conte and Chelsea that would have seen him walk into another job.
With no big vacancies left and no immediate prospect of a tempting job becoming available for Conte, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is left with the clear choice between sacking the Italian and paying him up to £9million in compensation, or letting him see out the final year of his contract and risk civil war.
Conte has made it clear he will not quit and, despite being left in the dark over Chelsea’s plans, has told friends he is prepared to return for pre-season training if no action is taken. It is still expected that Conte will be sacked, but a decision had been delayed to see whether a mutually beneficial parting of the ways was available.
Maurizio Sarri remains the favourite to replace Conte should Abramovich decide to pay him off, but the former Napoli manager, who is still contracted to the Serie A club, is not the only person Chelsea have been looking at.
Laurent Blanc has been put forward as a Plan B, while Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli, who was interviewed for the Chelsea job before Conte got it, still has admirers at Stamford Bridge.
Sarri’s lawyers have been working on whether an exit from Napoli can be negotiated, with Italian sources claiming the club are now prepared to let him go for around £3.5 million.
While sacking Conte would be expensive for Abramovich, keeping him could be even more costly. Eden Hazard is unlikely to extend his contract if the 48-year-old remains in his job, while David Luiz and Willian would seek transfers.
There are fears Conte would seek revenge on those he believes have attempted to undermine him over the past 12 months, despite the fact there remains a recognition that he is one of the world’s best coaches.
Despite the uncertainty, Chelsea are still pursuing signings. Nice midfielder Jean Seri, Manchester United’s Anthony Martial and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski are all on Chelsea’s radar.
Anthony Martial wants to leave Manchester United, his agent has confirmed.
Martial has grown increasingly disillusioned under Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford and will seek a transfer in what could prove a potential collision course with the club.
The 22-year-old’s frustrations at failing to win a regular starting place at United were compounded by his omission from France’s 23man squad for the World Cup and he is unhappy at the lack of assurances he has been given over his role by the club.
Philippe Lamboley, Martial’s representative, issued a stinging rebuke to United by claiming they had not demonstrated they were serious about keeping the player after eight months of protracted negotiations about a new deal came to nothing.
“After thinking about all the possibilities, Anthony wants to leave Manchester United,” Lamboley told RMC in France.
“When Manchester United, which is the most powerful club in the world, does not find an agreement in eight months of negotiations, it is that it does not really want to make him an important player.”
Mauricio Pochettino is a keen admirer of Martial and would jump at the chance to bring the Frenchman to Tottenham. Martial is thought to be open to moving to Spurs but United are opposed to selling him to a Premier League rival.
Chelsea also have an interest in Martial and he would be prepared to go there too, but the same obstacles would apply. Several other European clubs, including Juventus, have been monitoring Martial’s situation and could yet move for the forward.
The prospect of selling Martial would be met with opposition by some at United but Mourinho would countenance a deal so long as he could get a high calibre replacement in. United have been heavily linked with Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale and Willian, of Chelsea.
Martial joined United for a projected £61.6million in 2015, of which around £44million has been paid so far, and enjoyed an impressive debut season under Louis van Gaal, who said he had bought the player as a “gift” for his successor.
But Mourinho has had a turbulent relationship with Martial and has criticised the player’s attitude and lack of consistency. After the 1-0 defeat by Brighton last month, Martial was one of the players who was singled out by the United manager.