Roman Abramovich lines up Ancelotti as replacement if Conte loses to Barcelona

Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich is reportedly planning on replacing Antonio Conte with Carlo Ancelotti

- The Blues' owner is reportedly waiting to see how the West London side's Champions League campaign against Barcelona will fare

- Ancelotti is currently based in London as he is without a club after being axed at Bayern

Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, has already spoken to former manager Carlo Ancelotti about the possibilities of him replacing Antonio Conte before the end of the season at Stamford Bridge , according to reports.

There have lingering rumours of looming loggerhead between Conte and the Chelsea board, having clashed over transfer targets in the summer, while he the Italian has already conceded defeat in this season’s title race.

Roman Abramovich lines up Ancelotti as replacement if Conte loses to Barcelona

The Daily Record report that Conte’s future at the club hinges on their European campaign, with Ancelotti waiting in the wings should they crash out prematurely.

Chelsea lost out on being group leaders of their Champions League group after they were surprisingly beaten to top spot by Roma, and that has landed them an extremely difficult last-16 tie against Spanish leaders Barcelona.

There is already a sense at the club that Conte will not stay beyond the end of this season – having been linked with the AC Milan and Italy jobs – and he could leave even sooner if Chelsea fail to overcome the Catalans.

Ancelotti is already back in London and has had his possessions moved from his home in Munich back to London as he has already spoken with Abramovich about a return to the club where he won the double.

Carlo Ancelotti is currently based in London

He is regarded as the No.1 candidate to replace Conte – though does not want to be considered for the position while his friend is still in the dugout – and is seen as having a less abrasive managerial style.

There is a sense that Ancelotti will be more accepting of Chelsea’s current structure and their transfer policy, with Abramovich convinced that he sacked the Italian prematurely last time around.

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