Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Defiant Antonio Conte confirms when he will LEAVE Chelsea… and it’s bad news for Italy
ANTONIO CONTE has pledged to see out his Chelsea contract and will snub Italy’s offer to return to the national side.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte insists he will stay
Antonio Conte has 18 months remaining at Chelsea, having joined the club in the summer of 2016.
The manager, who guided the Blues to the Premier League title last season, has ben named as a candidate to take up the vacant Italy post.
Express Sport understands Conte’s future could be resolved in 23 days.
The manager is at odds with the board over their transfer policy, which resulted in two deadline day deals been done on Wednesday.
Conte has previously said he would like to return to Italy, where he led the national side between 2014 and 2016.
But he insists Chelsea will remain his focus until his contract expires in the summer of 2019.
I still have 18 months of contract with Chelsea
"From the start of this season there have been a lot of speculation and rumours around me," he said.
"The only thing I can tell you now is I still have 18 months of contract with Chelsea. My intention, my will, is to respect the contract.
"We signed a three-year contract. I think our desire is to continue our work.
"This season, the situation has always been the same, with a lot of pressure, and I don't understand why, always around me.
“Maybe it is because this is Chelsea. This is the only answer I'm having.
"But the pressure is normal. When the situation is too calm, you risk being relaxed and losing the anger, the fire. I like to live with this pressure."
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte endured mixed results in the transfer window last month
On Thursday Conte was named among four Italian managers the Azzurri want to interview for the national team post.
Italy’s new commissioner Roberto Fabbricini said: “The names are the ones you’ve already heard.
“(Roberto) Mancini was in Rome but we didn’t speak with him.
“Conte seems eager to rejoin the Azzurri, (Carlo) Ancelotti opens and closes the door while (Claudio) Ranieri remains in the mix.
“There isn’t a favourite, but we have to look at the positives and negatives.
“Whoever has made Italian football proud will be taken into consideration.”