Despite being heavily linked with Chelsea amid reports Antonio Conte will be sacked, Luis Enrique is not interested in taking a new job until the end of the season.
Conte’s position has come under renewed scrutiny after his side’s 4-1 defeat at Watford; a result that came hot on the heels of a 3-0 home loss at the hands of Bournemouth.
Former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique has been linked with the job should Conte be dismissed, although it is thought that Chelsea aren’t immediately interested in doing so.
It is understood, though, he is not interested in cutting short his year-long break from football for any position and Chelsea would likely have to hire a caretaker manager to see out the rest of the season should they opt for the 47-year-old to replace Conte.
Despite their recent poor results, Chelsea’s players have been given three days off by Conte having played twice a week non-stop for over two months, with the busy fixture list being cited for five players having picked up hamstring injuries in recent weeks.
The Blues have also been linked with Juventus’s Massimiliano Allegri and Napoli’s Maurizio Sarri while Monaco’s Leonardo Jardim is thought to be considering his options for next season.
Conte — who has been linked with returning to the Italy national team job despite Luigi Di Biagio having been placed in temporary charge on Monday — has called on the club to publicly back him after reports emerged that he is at odds with Roman Abramovich and the Blues board.
He has, though, hinted that he is unhappy with the club’s transfer policy despite signing Olivier Giroud, Ross Barkley and Emerson Palmieri during the January transfer window.
Conte does, however, intend to see out his current contract in west London — which runs until the end of next season — despite claims he is set to resign.
Should Conte depart the Premier League champions, Paris Saint-Germain are likely to be interested in bringing in the ex-Juventus boss amid doubts over the suitability of Unai Emery.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, are reportedly considering the future of Zinedine Zidane after the Blancos’s dramatic slump during the 2017-18 campaign, with Conte mooted as a potential replacement.
