Joy for Antonio Conte as top European national team is planning to grab him away from Chelsea this summer

macfranc007 February 28, 2018 IFTTT, Latest Sport News | Today on Naij.com Oluwatomiwa Babalola

- Antonio Conte is Italy's number one choice for their national team job

- The 48-year-old led the Azzuri to the quarterfinals of Euro 2016

- He joined Chelsea in 2016 but seem to be less popular barely one year after winning the Premier League title for the Blues

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is on the verge of being rehired as the Italian national team coach according to the federation’s vice-commissioner Alessandro Costacurta.

The 48-year-old left his position as the head coach of the Azzuri to sign a three-year deal with the Blues in 2016, having led the team to the quarterfinals stage of the Euro 2016 before crashing out to Germany on penalty shootouts.

But the former Juventus handler does not know what the future holds for him at the Stamford Bridge at the moment, as he appears to have fallen out of favour with his employers.

Chelsea have continue to struggle in the league, as they have currently been forced out of the top four positions on the English topflight table – with 53 points from 28 league games.

And they will have to give their best to fight their way back up if they want to play in the continent next year, except if they can win this year’s Uefa Champions League title.

Meanwhile, the coach, who is hell bent on seeing out his contract at the club which expires in 2019, has become the first choice to take over the vacancy this summer.

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“I haven’t chosen yet but I think Conte is the one who could do the best,” the Italian football association’s vice-commissioner Alessandro Costacurta told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I’ll definitely talk with him in a couple of months.”

Apart from Conte, former Manchester City boss, Roberto Mancini, Carlo Ancelotti and Claudio Ranieri are other managers being considered for the job, but the 48-year-old seem to be in pole position to return to his former job.

“[Conte] has already shown he knows how to be national team coach while the others haven’t yet,” said Costacurta, the former Milan and Italy defender who is in charge of selecting the coach under the federation’s emergency administration.

“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be happy with Mancini or with Ancelotti – although [Ancelotti] seems to have removed himself from consideration.”

Whoever gets the job at the end of the day will be succeeding Gian Piero Ventura, who was sacked in November after failing to lead Italy qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958.

The Azzuri have emerged champions four times in their 18 appearances at the global events, and this year, they will be watching at the stands.

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