"We have a great rapport with Allegri. Contracts are not as important as the relationships between people.

"With Allegri, the conditions are all there to continue. The team is doing well and improving a great deal. Now the crucial moment of the season is coming up, so we should focus on that.

“I believe that in a corporate structure such as ours the role of coach is of very high importance, so I am opposed to having a coach who is set to leave the club.”

The words of Juventus chief executive Giuseppe Marotta amid suggestions that Old Lady manager, Massimiliano Allegri, is ready to leave the club for Chelsea this summer. It was reported last week that the Italian tactician had ‘agreed’ terms with the London club, who are known to be on the lookout for a new long-term manager with interim man Guus Hiddink set to leave at the end if the season after stepping in to replace Jose Mourinho.

The Blues are set to offer a unique set of circumstances next term, with the London club unlikely to be in Champions League action, while any hopes of the Europa League appear to hinge on an FA Cup triumph, with the league season ebbing away.

Even with this, and the futures of key players up in the air, Chelsea will not be short of coaches keen on what they have to offer, and with that in mind, here are FIVE Allegri alternatives…

Antonio Conte

Like Allegri, Conte is a connoisseur of Italian football, with a superb knowledge of building teams of great defensive strength and tactical discipline. The 46-year-old’s management of Juventus helped them to come back from the match-fixing scandal that once threatened to ruin the club, claiming the Serie A title in 2011/12 – his debut season – after a period of instability following a drop to the second tier and a return to the top flight with a sub-standard squad.

Conte has since left to manage Italy, but a move away from the Azzurri after EURO 2016 has already been mooted, with Chelsea keen. The eight-time Serie A winner – five as a player, three as a coach – would bring a wealth of experience and tactical nous, which may be what’s needed with the Blues set for a battle to climb back into the Champions League running next term.

Jorge Sampaoli

Somewhat of a risk, Sampaoli is a real wildcard option. The Argentine coach is yet to manage outside of his home continent, and has only really tasted major success at international level with Chile. However, his stock is high after lifting the 2015 Copa America last summer, and he is an available option, as he has since walked away from that post.

Sampaoli’s teams are characterised by their ferocious pace, energy and pressing, while he often opts for a three-man defensive line and unorthodox ‘false nine’ strikers up front. Whether this was necessity or inspiration with Chile remains open to debate, but at Stamford Bridge he may find the players available don’t quite fit the mould. Alas, Sampaoli is fierce motivator and could offer the dynamism the club have lacked in the dugout for a while.

Manuel Pellegrini

A steady pair of hands. Pellegrini’s dead-pan responses when quizzed by the media and unspectacular teams may keep him out of the limelight, but he’s a great coach with plenty of Premier League know-how after guiding the Manchester City ship, despite speculation about his future for much of the past 18 months.

The Chilean boss seems to have found his home in English football after bouncing around Spain’s La Liga, so he could be tempted by the Chelsea job, which he has been linked with.

Claudio Ranieri

The ‘Tinkerman’ back at Chelsea? Stranger things have happened. Granted, the Italian was treated in an extremely poor manner by Abramovich in 2004 when his job was openly touted around Europe before eventually being filled by Mourinho, but time is a great healer, and perhaps enough water has passed under the (Stamford) bridge since. Ranieri’s re-emergence at Leicester this season has been spectacular, with the Foxes currently (well, they are) title favourites in what has been an inexplicable season.

Reports have already suggested that there is interest from Chelsea on the back of his achievements at the King Power Stadium, and the former Blues chief may be tempted by a big budget and the chance to manage a truly elite club again. However, much depends on Leicester’s end to the campaign, as it’s unlikely he’ll walk away on the back of winning the Premier League and could be tempted to stick around for Champions League football.

Diego Simeone

Seemingly the favourite, Simeone has the reputation, pedigree and the personality to take on the unique set of circumstances at Chelsea. The Argentine has been a revelation at Atletico Madrid, taking the ‘other’ side in the Spanish capital to league glory and the Champions League Final in 2013/14, while building a team capable of taking on Real Madrid and Barcelona and cracking the ‘two-team’ division tag La Liga has been given.

Simeone lives and breathes Atleti, but with a transfer ban looming – albeit they’re likely to be able to make moves this summer – he may decide it’s time to move on, with the project at Chelsea likely to be tempting for him.