Former Chelsea player-manager Gianluca Vialli has urged the club not to make any rash decisions on the future of Antonio Conte.
It has been speculated that Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester United could be Conte’s final match in charge of the Blues.
A fifth-place finish in the Premier League, coupled with reported tension between Conte and the Chelsea hierarchy, has encouraged speculation that he will leave the club before next season.
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Vialli, though, thinks both parties should think carefully before deciding on their futures.
“If I was Antonio, I would think twice about leaving Chelsea,” he told Sky Sports News. “If I was Chelsea, I would think three times about letting Antonio go. It’s a good match and I hope it will continue.
“I think he has done incredibly well last season, winning the championship [Premier League], which is always complicated in a competition which has six or seven clubs capable of winning. The competition is incredibly tough but he managed to do it in a great manner.
“The season after you win the championship is always more complicated. The competition is hungrier and stronger, so I think he did everything possible this season.
“They did extremely well in the Champions League until getting knocked out by, I would not say Barcelona but Lionel Messi. If he had been playing for Chelsea, it would have been 5-0 both times to Chelsea.
“Getting to the final of the FA Cup is a massive achievement, so overall he is going great and I hope it continues.”