Antonio Conte deal far from done, Barcelona to compete with Real Madrid for Thibaut Courtois

In football circles, Antonio Conte’s arrival at Chelsea in summer has been considered a foregone conclusion for some time now. Various reports and eminent personalities such as former Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli have indicated that the Italian is set to take charge of the West London club in the summer.

However, if the latest report from Daily Mirror is to be believed, then Conte’s arrival at the club is far from certain. Daily Mirror claims that Serie A club AC Milan have entered into the race for the signing of the Italian manager.

Conte is currently the coach of the Italian national team and has already announced that he will be moving back into club football following the conclusion of the Euro Cup in summer.

Rossoneri have struggled under Sinisa Mihajlovic this season and are set to miss out on Champions League football for yet another season as they sit at the sixth place in the Serie A table. The capital-club spent a huge amount of money in the last summer transfer window; however, they find themselves massive 21 points behind the leaders Juventus.

Milan believes that Conte is the man who could restore the club’s reputation in Italy.

In another setback to the West London club, La Liga giants Barcelona have set their sights on goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Recent reports had claimed that Real Madrid are plotting a move for the Belgian goalkeeper, but now according to Spanish publication Marca, the Catalan giants have also entered into the fray.

According to the report, German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has failed to convince Luis Enrique that he is the right successor to Claudio Bravo, and the club could consider selling him in the summer.

The former Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper is also understood to be looking for a move due to the lack of playing time at Nou Camp. Barcelona have identified Courtois as their number one choice to replace ter Stegen at the club.

Courtois recently cast doubts over his future at Stamford Bridge by claiming that he is not sure whether his future remains with the West London club.

While on international duty with Belgium national team, he said: “I do not say yes, I do not say no. I do not know. I still have three years on my contract. We must see what Chelsea want. It is true that it [this season] has changed me. Until now I had always won a trophy every season. We hope that next season will be better.”