Antonio Conte could be on his way back to Chelsea to replace Mauricio Pochettino after shock reports in Italy.

Pochettino has come under pressure after a poor season with Chelsea sitting ninth in the Premier League and replacements are reportedly on club chairman Todd Boehly's mind.

According to La Repubblica in Italy, the Blues chief is in contact with Conte and his representatives about taking over this summer.

Part of the offer includes tempting him with a 'large investment project', handing him huge funds to build a trophy-winning side.

Conte has already coached Chelsea, joining in 2016 and getting sacked two years later in a turbulent period for the club where they won the Premier League but then capitulated.

In the Italian's first season in charge at Stamford Bridge, he led them to Premier League glory - becoming the first side in the division to win 30 games.

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A turbulent second season saw the Blues finish fifth and miss out on Champions League football and, despite winning the FA Cup, he was sacked that summer - costing the club £26.6million in compensation.

But the prospect of Conte returning would be a huge shock, considering the direction that Clearlake Capital want to go with in west London.

Having signed a large number of youngsters to grow and fulfil their potential, that goes against Conte's ethos.

The former Inter Milan and Tottenham boss would rather signed seasons professionals to make an immediate impact rather than develop youngsters into world-class stars.

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