Antonio Conte ‘leaving Chelsea at end of season’ as he eyes a return to Serie A
ANTONIO CONTE plans on leaving Chelsea at the end of the season and switching to a Serie A club, according to reports.
The Italian is reportedly unhappy with the level of support afforded at the club during the summer.
And he has grown tired of his level of access to Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and senior executive Marina Granovskaia, according to the claims.
According to the Sunday Times, Conte seriously considered resigning in the summer, but was prevented by a severe financial penalty clause in his contract.
Conte started his career as Chelsea boss with a sensational first-season Premier League title win.
The former Juventus and Italian national team manager, 48, is known to harbour a special love of his home country.
He was pictured with his wife on a beach in the south of the country reading an English football phrasebook a month ago, during the international break.
The handling of Diego Costa's exile and sale back to Atletico Madrid has also made Conte vulnerable to criticism, with the club reluctant to openly support him during the fiasco.
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Chelsea also lost out on the signing of Romelu Lukaku as he moved to Manchester United instead, after the Belgian was poised for a switch back to Stamford Bridge.
And the Blues also sold Nemanja Matic to United over the summer, having brought in Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco as their sitting midfielder.
Conte's side lost their crucial title clash with Manchester City 1-0 last night, after Kevin de Bruyne's magnificent winning goal.
Conte's brother Gianluca is his assistant manager at Stamford Bridge and would follow him on to the next job.
Antonio Conte said on Italian broadcaster Radio 1: "I miss Italy, that's beyond doubt, so once I have had some important and life-changing experiences, I will be back."