Another shock contender emerges as Chelsea hold talks with Fulham boss

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Rome, June 4: Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic has emerged as a new shocking candidate to replace manager Antonio Conte at Chelsea as the Blues prepare life after the Italian.

Technically Conte is still in charge of the side, however, reportedly Owner Roman Abramovich and the Premier League side's hierarchy wants a new face at the helm and have already told him that won't be needed next year at London.

The Blues, reportedly, entered into a negotiation with Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri to replace Conte but the talks said to have broken down due to contractual issues with Napoli.

Sarri left Napoli at the end of last season although he is still tied contractually with the Serie A runners-up. Chelsea contracted the Italian side to strike a deal for him but Napoli's president Aurelio De Laurentiis latter proved too difficult to negotiate with.

Thus, Chelsea now have reportedly stopped the pursuit of Sarri and instead have turned their attention to a new face.

Former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique who has been without a club for the last one year and former PSG boss Laurent Blanc, who also is without a side for the last two years, emerged as the next potential choices. But another name which has come forward into the equation is Jokanovic.

Jokanovic, a former Chelsea player, is currently the manager of Fulham. The London-based side recently got promoted to the Premier League for the next season and Jokanovic's work in the Championship has reportedly impressed Roman.

Fulham went from 12th in the table to a third-place finish through a 23-game unbeaten streak in the second half of the 2017-18 season only to defeat Aston Villa in the play-off final to earn the promotion.

The former Serbian international's rise has reportedly caught the eye of the Chelsea hierarchy and according to reports, the former defensive midfielder now has been invited by Roman to appear for an interview over the Chelsea job.

Jokanovic, earlier, has managed Macavi Tel Aviv and Watford in championship whom he took up to the Premier League in the 2014/15 season, however, never got the chance to manage them in the top flight as he was replaced by Quique Sánchez Flores in the next season.

Nevertheless, before all these talks, Chelsea have to make a decision over Antonio Conte's exit. As of now, it is quite clear that the Chelsea board is no longer planning a future with Conte but to get rid of him they have to pay the compensation fee worth £9 million which they are unwilling.

However, the settlement can be written off if Conte overtakes another management job in that period of time but as of now, it is looking very unlikely.