Antonio Conte heads Chelsea’s hit coach list

Baku. 8 December. REPORT.AZ/ Antonio Conte will be the leading candidate to replace Jose Mourinho as Chelsea manager if the Portuguese coach fails to arrest the slide that has left him facing the sack at Stamford Bridge, Report informs referring to The Independent.

Mourinho goes into Wednesday's Champions League tie against Porto, the club he guided to the European Cup in 2004, with Chelsea having lost 10 games in all competitions following Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to relegation-threatened Bournemouth. And while the 52-year-old retains the backing of club owner Roman Abramovich, a further defeat against Porto on Wednesday night, which would see Chelsea suffer group-stage elimination assuming Dynamo Kiev beat Maccabi Tel-Aviv, may force the Russian to act in an attempt to breathe new life into the faltering Premier League champions, who currently lie 14 points adrift of the Premier League top four.

Conte, who guided Juventus to three consecutive Serie A titles earlier this decade, is currently employed as Italy manager and unlikely to vacate his post before taking charge of the Azzurri at Euro 2016 next summer.