Former Chelsea manager wants Antonio Conte to handle AS Roma as club legend offers support for move

Former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri has expressed his desire to see his club AS Roma employ the services of Antonio Conte to handle the Giallorossi.

The Serie A club have performed below the high standard they were known for, and consequently fired Eusebio Di Francesco.

Ranieri was employed to steer the ship of the club as manager till the end of the season.

The former Leicester boss was asked, as a Roma supporter, if he would be alright seeing Antonio Conte at the club next season.

“As a fan of Roma, I’d love to see Conte on the bench. It’d make me very happy. Don’t ask me whether he will come, because I am the last to know!” he laughed.

Meanwhile, AS Roma director Francesco Totti would not confirm or deny negotiations with Conte.

Totti was asked if he felt confident that negotiations with Conte would pay off this summer, but was very evasive in his answer.

“Let’s say the last few weeks have seen a lot of talk about Antonio Conte, but we have Ranieri on the bench and must respect him right to the end. He is our current Coach, then at the end of the season we’ll evaluate if it’ll be him, Conte or someone else,” Totti told Sky Sport Italia.

“We have a very important objective, which is to reach the Champions League. It doesn’t seem fair to discuss any other Coaches right now.

“The choice of management does not depend on Champions League qualification. I can assure you of that.”

Would Totti and Roma be eager to approach Conte for a place on their bench?

“Conte is one of the most successful Coaches in Europe, a winner who succeeded everywhere he went, so it seems natural that every club would go wild to get him. There has been talk of Inter, of Bayern Munich, of Roma, so there are many clubs interested.

“Obviously, if you were to get a Coach like that, you’d have to ensure the project was suited to a tactician with his standards. Roma have one of the top four squads in Italy, but when the club sits down with the Coach for pre-season, there will be discussions on who to keep, who can leave and who comes in.”