Milan Plan Conte Swoop After Chelsea Boss Admits Desire to Return to Italy in Near Future

AC Milan want to provide Antonio Conte with a way out of the Premier League by offering him the opportunity to take over from Vincenzo Montella.

That is according to Corriere dello Sport, who have reported that I Rossoneri are interested in luring the Chelsea boss back to his homeland.

No official talks will have taken place so it's fair to take this rumour with a pinch of salt for now, especially with other reports claiming that Milan had also made contact with former manager Carlo Ancelotti about taking up the reins at San Siro too.

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Conte only penned a new two-year deal to remain in charge at Stamford Bridge, but he has already begun speaking about wanting to return to Italy at some point in the near future.

The 47-year-old was quoted on an Italian radio station in late September as he described how much he "misses" his nation of birth, and revealed that he planned to return to Italy once he has had some "life changing experiences" elsewhere.

Those comments, coupled with Milan's supposed desire to replace Montella in the dugout, led to suggestions that the sleeping Serie A giants may plump for Conte if they ever decided to relieve Montella of his duties.

The ex-Roma forward spent lasvishly during the summer transfer window, but currently sees his side sitting seventh in Italy's top flight after succumbing to three defeats in their opening seven domestic fixtures of the campaign.

Montella has been tasked with qualifying for the Champions League for the 2018/19 season and, whilst it is early days with his expensively assembled squad, murmurs are already emerging that he may not last the season.

Ancelotti, ironically both a former boss of Milan and Chelsea, was said to have held tenative talks with Milan's hierarchy about a romantic return to the club he managed for nine seasons.

Such speculation appears to have been just that, however, with the Italian stating that he wanted to take an extensive break from football before weighing up his options next summer.

Conte, who led Chelsea to the English top flight title in his first season in charge, has led his side to fourth in the standings with 13 points from seven matches so far this term.