Chelsea are doing their best to end the Premier League season on a high note after many ups and downs this term.
Last week, the Blues came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Aston Villa, before seeing off Tottenham in midweek.
Chelsea are now eighth in the table and will now fancy their chances of securing some form of European football at the end of the season.
However, questions remain over Mauricio Pochettino’s future at Stamford Bridge, with speculation doing the rounds over how whether his position is safe.
One Chelsea rumour in particular has been met with a somewhat incredulous reaction, namely that of Antonio Conte being linked with a return to the club.
Calciomercato.it reported that Conte has recently offered himself to Chelsea, via an intermediary who has ‘an excellent relationship’ with the Blues.
Fabrizio Romano subsequently rubbished those rumours, and now ESPN pundit Shaka Hislop has given his thoughts on the prospect of Conte to Chelsea.
What has Shaka Hislop said about reports of Antonio Conte making Chelsea return?
Speaking to Gabriele Marcotti and Steve Nicol on ESPN FC, Hislop said: “I will tell you why I am laughing.
“I agree fully 100 percent with everything Gab had to say, yet because of how this club has been run for the last two years, it becomes entirely plausible.
“For that reason only, it makes no sense and the way this club have done their business, you just think, ‘Oh, yep, that’s the kind of thing they will do’.
“But, again, as I say in all seriousness, I am totally with Gab. This makes absolutely no sense on a number of levels.”
Chelsea really shouldn’t offload Mauricio Pochettino yet
Over the past 20-odd years, Chelsea have developed a reputation for being a revolving door of managers.
Just two managers have lasted more than 1,000 days in the role since the turn of the century – Claudio Ranieri and Jose Mourinho (in his first spell).
In addition, Chelsea have a really young squad at present, so it’s important to have a long-term manager who has experience of building a team.
We’ve all seen what Pochettino can do on that front, having done well in building up Southampton and Tottenham.
Chelsea really shouldn’t part company with the Argentine. He should get at least one more season to show what he can do.