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Antonio Conte offered £41.8m to leave Chelsea in the summer- is it possible?

By Christopher Godfrey

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 16: Antonio Conte, Manager of Chelsea gives his team instructions during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford on April 16, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 16: Antonio Conte, Manager of Chelsea gives his team instructions during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford on April 16, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /
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Chelsea FC news: Manager Antonio Conte has been offered a huge sum to leave Chelsea this summer.

In the latest Chelsea FC news, Italian Serie A side Inter Milan have offered Conte a huge five-year contract worth £41.8m (£8.3m a season) to join them, according to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.

They claim that Conte and Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone are both top targets for the Inter Milan side.

Inter Milan manager Stefano Pioli has not done a fantastic job there this season and Inter Milan are set to miss out on Champions League qualification yet again.

It’s highly believable that Conte would be a target for any top club really, and any manager that has taken a team from 10th to first in under a season is of course going to be linked to a host of top clubs. But that doesn’t mean that Conte would go.

Chelsea are ready to secure Conte with a new and improved contract for next season according to reports. Additionally, he has been promised a huge sum of money available for him to make the signings he wants. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and the board are no fools. They will do everything to keep Conte at Stamford Bridge. Whether that means more money for him (which isn’t a concern for Conte), or more money to build the squad or whether his family can be brought to London and settled.

While I don’t know his personal situation, reports and Conte (himself) say his family is set to live with him next season in London.

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The only minor concern that Conte has (according to The Times) is that he’s given more power to decide on players in the transfer window. This would mean that Technical Director Michael Emanalo would have to step aside on certain transfer disagreements and allow Conte to have his say.

While I don’t think that Chelsea should give full control over transfers to Conte, I think that they should try to get him the players he wants.

Roman Abramovich leaned from giving control to former manager Jose Mourinho that this wasn’t always a good idea. Mourinho infamously sold Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Juan Mata among other stars. Lukaku is now being rumored to be coming back to Chelsea for around £100m. after Mourinho sold him for £28m.

So, while I agree that Chelsea should hold the control of transfers at the club, I think a compromise can be made. Conte could devise a list of players he wants, and tell the club to go and get them. It appears the club may have softened their stance on having control of transfers now that Conte has proven to them what a top class manager he is.

Next: Real Madrid are selling the wrong striker

Conte has said that he hopes to be at Chelsea for a very long time and reports of him going to Inter Milan for huge money should be expected. Clubs are going to try to poach him. Chelsea need to do everything they can to keep him. But I don’t think they will have to do much. Conte is here to stay.

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