The buzz around names likely to be on Antonio Conte's transfer wanted-list will step-up in intensity now he has his family photographs neatly set out on the manager's office desk at Cobham.

That debate is expected to go all the way down to the line, with the window only recently having opened and almost two months of dealing still to go.

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But a more immediate indication of how Project Conte will look is to be given much earlier, with the expected naming of his backroom team this week.

As with other recent Stamford Bridge bosses, this will surely be a combination of club and coach-led appointments.

Most of the speculation has centred on the role of goalkeeping coach, with reports Christophe Lollichon may be on his way out.

The Frenchman was brought to London in 2007 on the personal recommendation of Petr Cech, who had worked with him as a teenager at Rennes prior to joining Chelsea.

Many were surprised he did not move on when the keeper went to Arsenal; but he is understood, like Cech, to be close to Roman Abramovich - providing valuable eyes and ears in the dugout and on the training ground.

If Lollichon's name is not on Conte's staff list, it will be seen as a victory for Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian is understood not to have seen eye-to-eye with him over various coaching matters in the last year.

But if he does go the balance of influence could tip one of two ways, depending on who replaces him.

Conte is said to prefer Gianluca Spinelli, who has contributed so much towards keeping Gianluigi Buffon as one of the world's greatest goalkeepers for the Azzurri.

Official channels are tight-lipped on the likelihood of that happening, and if it were on the cards, there may be a short delay as Spinelli is understood to be under contract with the Italian FA until the end of the month.

Another name linked with Lollichon's job is that of former Blues shot-stopper Carlo Cudicini.

The 42-year-old, still revered at Stamford Bridge for his playing days, is presently goalkeeping coach with the Italy U21 side, as well as being a club ambassador for Chelsea.

He is a fairly common sight around Chelsea, and would be seen as the sort of club appointee that often goes with a new order: able to keep one foot in each of Conte's and Chelsea's camps.

Being Italian, with a pretty much native understanding of English, he would also be able to communicate well with Conte – who speaks the language of his new country reasonably, but is known to be keen to learn it in more depth.

Carlo Cudicini (PA Sport) Image credit: PA Sport

Conte would be expected to have two or three assistants, just as managers before him have, and it will be interesting to see how many are seen as his men, how many the club's.

Abramovich, and the club Board, are understood to favour continuity on backroom appointments, and many will be delighted to hear the highly-rated Steve Holland is expected to be kept on.

There seems to be a recognition that Chelsea's continual state of managerial churn requires at least some stability, just as the civil service attempts to instil calm in the nation at times of government turmoil.

Holland is seen as one of the country's best home-grown coaches, and is highly rated by his part-time boss Gareth Southgate within the England U21 set-up.

If, as seems likely, Conte is to bring in his own number two, the name in the frame will surely be Angelo Alessio – who has fulfilled that role for him since 2010.

That just leaves one big question. Chelsea have tended to employ a spare within their top coaching team: someone, generally, who knows his way around the club, has managerial experience, and could step-up if it all goes awry for the boss.

Think Ray Wilkins or Roberto Di Matteo (though, not actually one of those two this time).

Cuducini is clearly a club man, though lacks the top level experience to be considered a true heir in the time of need.

Perhaps, having coped admirably with the change from Jose Mourinho to Guus Hiddink, Holland is thought highly enough of by the club to be that man.

But don't be surprised if some additional name from Chelsea's playing past takes a bold walk into the press conference room when Conte is formally unveiled by the club in coming weeks.

Fans arrive at Stamford Bridge in London for a match at Chelsea's stadium Image credit: AFP

There are obvious names among those who have played for Chelsea, and subsequently managed within the English game – one or two of them even speaking the same language as Conte.

For some, all this politicking will cause dismay: a frequently expressed opinion being that Conte should just be permitted to assemble his own team.

But this is how Chelsea works: and it has been a remarkably successful way of working for all but a few months of the last decade.

And that is surely something of which Conte would have been aware when he took the job.

Dan Levene

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