Chelsea said see La Liga boss as potential replacement

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Chelsea may look to Diego Simeone should Antonio Conte part ways with the club this summer

Diego Simeone is believed to be Chelsea’s favourite to replace Antonio Conte at the Bridge

Diego Simeone has recently emerged as a potential replacement for Antonio Conte at Chelsea.

The Times have reported that Chelsea are not planning to fire the Italian before the end of the current campaign, but hope to mutually terminate his contract which has one year remaining come the end of the season.

Conte led Chelsea to an emphatic league title victory in his first season in the Premier League

If such a deal can be arranged, current Atletico Madrid boss Simeone is said to be Chelsea owner’s Roman Abramovich’s number one target to take over at Stamford Bridge.

Despite experiencing league title winning success in his first season in charge, relations between the Chelsea hierarchy and Conte are thought to have been more bitter than sweet. Reports of Conte’s discontent behind the scenes at Chelsea have been a constant, and his apparent frustration of the club’s transfer policy has been well reported.

Simeone’s greatest ever achievement came when he guided Atletico to the La Liga title in 2013/2014

Prior to Conte’s appointment in 2016 Chelsea in fact were thought to be interested in bringing in Simeone. However, the Argentine opted to remain where he was in order to oversee the huge period of transition for Atleti, as the club departed its 55,000 seater Vicente Valderon to move into the state of the art Wanda Metropolitano.

With a reported interest from both Internazionale and PSG, it may take little persuasion to lure Conte away from London. But – as for Simeone, it is believed that his preferred destination would be Italy – where he speaks the language fluently. And Simeone’s son has recently been quoted in The Sun claiming that his father will one day return there. A move to the Premier League, however, may just be too tempting to turn down. But Chelsea may need a plan B.