Conte to replace Enrique?

Barcelona have placed Antonio Conte on their shortlist of managers to replace Luis Enrique, according to reports.

The Sunday Express claims that Barca’s hierarchy have been impress with what the Italian has done at Stamford Bridge this season and will attempt to bring him to Camp Nou.

Luis Enrique has already announced that he is stepping down at the end of the season, while Athletic Bilbao boss, Ernesto Valverde, is the favourite to replace him.

Conte has already been targeted by Inter, with the Serie A club offering him a £10 million-a-year salary, a large transfer budget, and the promise of being able to make his own signings, such as Roma’s Radja Nainggolan.

The report claims that Chelsea are planning contract talks with Conte, but if they are unable to persuade him to stay, Roman Abramovich will consider replacing him with Leonid Slutsky.

Slutsky has been out of a managerial job since stepping down as CSKA Moscow boss in December.

The 46-year-old, who has won three Russian Premier League titles and coached the national team, has been living in London since January and is a close friend of Abramovich.

Slutsky has attended Chelsea’s training sessions and games, and was also sat just a few seats away from Conte during the Under-18s’ Youth Cup final victory over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge last week.