Chelsea are growing seriously worried Antonio Conte could quit before the start of the season.
The Blues boss is someone who has a quick temper, and makes his feelings clear, and now the Blues think he may not even return on Monday, when he was supposed to be there for pre-season training.
Now however, after losing Romelu Lukaku, the Chelsea board are worried that even landing Alvaro Morata or Andrea Belotti will not be enough to keep Conte happy and at the club.
“Conte is due back to work on Sunday but many staff expect this to be delayed after a series of phone calls with technical director Michael Emenalo.
“I’ve heard Conte has made it clear how angry he is and getting Andrea Belotti or Alvaro Morata might not be enough to calm him down.
“Conte is insisting the Blues match United’s Lukaku offer but the club fear it’s already too late.”
Huge issue
The problems for Chelsea should they lose Conte would be massive, and far, far worse than seeing Manchester United land Lukaku.
There is a lingering resentment towards the manager from certain board members, who feel he may well have made the situation worse with his handling of the Diego Costa situation, meaning if Chelsea fail to land their forward targets, they will have little left.