Chelsea are hoping a summer merry-go-round of managers will see them avoid paying a huge bill to replace Antonio Conte.

Conte is expected to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, despite the fact he could finish his second campaign as head coach by winning the FA Cup.

Chelsea have started work on who they would approach to succeed Conte in the event that he goes and are believed to have both an A-list and a B-list drawn up that they can turn to.

Many of Chelsea’s top targets, such as Mauricio Pochettino, Maurizio Sarri, Max Allegri and Leonardo Jardim would be expensive to prise away from their clubs, while even free agent Luis Enrique wants a salary worth around £15million-a-year.

The Blues also face a potential bill of £9m to sack Conte if the Italian does not walk straight into another job.