PL news : Zola hoping that Conte remains at Chelsea

Gianfranco Zola says Chelsea need to sort out their problems regarding Antonio Conte’s future at the club. The former Blues star believes that the Italian is still the man to take the club forward and lead them to greater things.

Conte has had to deal with reports and rumours for many months now regarding an imminent exit from Stamford Bridge after a highly disappointing title defence.

Despite the poor season, Zola thinks that Conte should be allowed to see out the remainder of his contract, which is due to expire in 2019.

Talking to talkSPORT, Zola said:

“I really hope not, because I think he is an asset for the club. At the moment there are certainly some problems. If the club and manager want to continue, and I think that will be good for the club, they should sort [the problems] out because the competition out there is so incredible.”

Chelsea have endured eight defeats in the Premier League this season, including losses to Burnley, Crystal Palace, West Ham. They have also taken heavy defeats at Watford and at home to Bournemouth in successive games.

The Blues have also been eliminated from the Champions League and are currently five points adrift of Tottenham in the final Champions League place.

Conte has been heavily linked with vacating the managerial position for former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique, who is currently without a club.

The ex-Juventus boss will undoubtedly be looking to remain in charge next season so will be pushing his team on to achieve a strong finish to the season, with a semi-final against Southampton in the FA Cup surely in Conte’s mind. - Read Sport