Chelsea boosted after missing out on Pep Guardiola as Roberto Mancini has bust-up at Inter

CHELSEA have been given a boost in their pursuit of Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini, according to reports.

 

Roberto Mancini has been linked with a return to the Premier League with Chelsea

 

The Blues' bid to lure Pep Guardiola to Stamford Bridge failed after Manchester City announced he would be replacing Manuel Pellegrini and will be joining the club on a three-year contract in the summer.

Guardiola was Roman Abramovich's No 1 target and was determined to secure his services with the Russian owner willing to offer him a £17million-a-year contract.

However, now that Guardiola is out of the equation, Abramovich must find a new long-term successor to Jose Mourinho with interim boss Guus Hiddink leaving in the summer.

Former Man City boss Mancini is reportedly on a list of candidates to become the next Blues boss and he has openly admitted he would be willing to manage Chelsea once his Inter contract expires.

But Mancini could leave the Serie A side earlier than expected after Italian outlet Tuttosport claimed the 51-year-old may leave the club in the summer.

The report adds that the reason for his potential departure is because of a bust-up he had with striker Mauro Icardi, which resulted in the player being benched in the Milan derby defeat last weekend.

This is not the first time Icardi and Mancini have clashed with the Inter boss criticising the 22-year-old and his fellow strikers following the 1-1 draw with Carpi on January 24, saying: “Our strikers can’t just stand there and wait for the ball to come.”

Website Football Italia claim Chelsea are willing to offer Mancini a £6.5m-a-year contract.

Other candidates Abramovich is eyeing are departing City boss Manuel Pellegrini, which Express Sport understands has become a key target for Abramovich because of his Premier League win ratio.

And Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone and former Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli.