Carlo Ancelotti 'Standing By' to Replace Antonio Conte as Chelsea Manager

Former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is reportedly the first choice to take over from Blues boss Antonio Conte, whose future at Stamford Bridge remains in question. 

According to Matt Heath-Smith in The Sun, Ancelotti wants to return to the Premier League following his dismissal from Bayern Munich. Heath-Smith also reported Conte, 48, is not expected to see out the rest of his contract, which runs until June 2019.

Planning has already started for his succession, and fellow Italian Ancelotti is "standing by" to take over having been made aware of Chelsea's interest, Heath-Smith noted.

Conte won the Premier League last season, his first campaign in charge at Chelsea, but he revealed recently in an interview with RadioUno that he misses Italy and "will be home before long" (via the Guardian's Simon Burnton).

Even more significantly, perhaps, the former Juve boss and the Chelsea board are at loggerheads over a lack of summer recruitment and a relatively poor start to the 2017-18 season, per The Sun's Neil Ashton and the Sunday Times' Duncan Castles.

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After nine matches of the new league campaign, Chelsea are three points worse off than they were at the same stage last season and already sit nine points behind table-topping Manchester City.

The Blues are not in a disastrous situation, but defending their league title already looks a tough challenge, and Conte's future is far from certain.

Ancelotti, 58, could be an ideal replacement. He enjoyed a successful spell at Stamford Bridge between 2009 and 2011, when he won the Premier League and the FA Cup.

He was sacked by Bayern at the end of September despite having led them to the Bundesliga title last term and recently returned to Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea take on another of his former clubs, AS Roma, in the UEFA Champions League:

Thanks to the league-and-cup double he won with Chelsea in 2009-10 Ancelotti is a popular figure in west London. His reappointment would likely be well-received by Blues fans should Conte leave the club.