Ousted Boss Antonio Conte Threatens to Take Legal Action Against Chelsea Over Sacking

Former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has threatened to take legal action against the Blues due to the length of time it took them to sack him.

According to the Times, the 48-year-old Italian could sue Chelsea for a loss of earnings with the arguement that they have cost him a year of his career.

The club did not sack him until last week, despite the fact that they had intended to for a number of weeks, or even months. He did not hear from the club for several weeks after the end of the season, only to be asked back two weeks ago to take pre-season training.

In fact, it's said that Conte has been prepared for his Chelsea exit since January, but has not been able to apply for a job elsewhere due to his contractual commitment to the club.

Opportunities that would have been of interest to Conte have come and gone over the summer, including the top jobs at Real Madrid and Italy.

However, the Italian manager has not been able to apply for them due to the fact he was not officially dismissed from his job at Chelsea until last week. He subsequently believes that Chelsea have prevented him from being in work for the next twelve months, due to the fact that all of the top European managerial roles have been taken.

Conte is seeking compensation on top of the £9m salary he is owed by Chelsea, which comes from the final year he had remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea threatening to withhold last year of his contract due to 'alleged irregular conduct and repeated criticism of his employers' throughout the course of last season.

Meanwhile, new Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri is reportedly close to signing Daniele Rugani from Juventus, with the Serie A champions wanting Chelsea to increase their offer to £40m before they would be willing to sell. Rugani's arrival would make way for the sales of Gary Cahill, Kurt Zouma and Matt Miazga.

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AC Milan have expressed an interest in Álvaro Morata and could offer teenage goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma as part of deal