Chelsea could stick with Antonio Conte but it would be an uneasy alliance

If Chelsea want a new manager, they will have to compete with other clubs in better situations. They could stick with Antonio Conte in an uneasy alliance.

Chelsea and Antonio Conte look set to part ways with Champions League being incredibly unlikely. Reports of the club shortlisting Luis Enrique and Thomas Tuchel have been joined by rumors that they are also looking at “young and dynamic” managers currently employed elsewhere.

But Enrique’s wages seem to be too high for the Blues and Tuchel looks favored by Paris Saint Germain. If Chelsea are unable to pry a manager away from another club they are left with one choice; keep Conte.

Conte has one year remaining on his contract after the season ends. In the past, he has stated his intention to fulfill it. Afterwards, he is likely to leave regardless. Without a technical director in place, Conte is the only football minded person linking this season to the next.

The year could provide plenty of time for Chelsea to not only find their desired technical director but give them plenty of time to prepare for life after Conte. It would also allow Chelsea to widen their manager shortlist net. It is much easier to pry a manager away from a club with advance notice but incredibly difficult on short notice.

Conte would also have the added benefit of knowing the squad. Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois are far more likely to leave if Chelsea do not make the Champions League. Conte would be able to cope with their absences because he already knows what the club has and what it needs.

Furthermore, his rotation for lesser matches policy would work well in the Europa League. Conte has given more minutes to youth players than almost any Chelsea manager in the Roman Abramovich era. The Europa League would provide Conte with a platform to test out Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ethan Ampadu, Kyle Scott and Dujon Sterling more frequently.

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But there are a lot of negatives to keeping Conte around as well. If players besides those departing are burned out on him, Chelsea could quickly end up in a 2015/2016 situation. The club can survive missing Champions League for a year (especially with the Europa League) but would struggle with missing it two seasons in a row.

Furthermore, both the board and Conte seem sick of each other. The board wants to pursue cheap targets whereas Conte wants the luxury targets. The board is ok with letting a player leave when the right bid comes in whereas Conte would prefer to be consulted first.

There are also curious  rumors that Conte does not want to quit but wants to leave. And the board  does not want to fire him but wants him to go. That brinkmanship could turn into an uneasy alliance for one more season but it could easily blow up in everyone’s faces.

If Conte stays, results would need to be immediate and consistent throughout the season. Any sign of sputtering of infighting would quickly see his contract ended. Uneasy alliances are easily broken after all.

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Regardless of what Chelsea decide, they need to figure things out with the long term strategy in mind. They have played things season to season for years and it has finally caught up with them. Keeping Conte till the end of his contract would hint at a change to that but they must be careful that the pros outweigh the cons.