Conte In Crosshairs For England’s Mighty Managers

Left in the starting blocks by Chelsea’s Antonio Conte this season, the Premier League’s all-star cast of super managers will be desperate to hit the ground running in 2017-18.

The 2016-17 title race was billed in some quarters as a shootout between Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United, with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal heading the chasing pack.

Instead it was Chelsea who shot to the front, closely pursued by Mauricio Pochettino’s enterprising Tottenham Hotspur, leaving Conte as the man who must be toppled.

“He is going to have the two Manchester clubs, who are going to be throwing £300 million ($390 million, 350 million euros) to £400 million at it between them,” predicts former United captain Gary Neville, the Sky Sports pundit.
“They are hurting and they are under significant pressure next season to deliver. And if they don’t deliver there’s going to be a big problem.”

Having brought the smiles back to Stamford Bridge following the emotionally sapping final months of Mourinho’s tenure as Chelsea manager, Conte’s next challenge is to equip his squad for a return to the Champions League.

Chelsea benefited from having no European distractions, allowing Conte to lean heavily on a very tight group of first-team players, and adding depth to his squad is now of fundamental importance.

“With the right additions and a little bit of time, Chelsea can really challenge for (the Champions League), but next season it is going to be a huge burden on them,” former Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer told the BBC.