It's an Italian derby to decide the successor of Guus Hiddink on the Chelsea bench: Massimiliano Allegri versus Antonio Conte.
Rumours over the last days suggest the current Juventus head coach is close to agreeing a four-year deal for €4.5 million-a-season with Chelsea. From what I know, even if Massimo is in a very good position and under consideration, Antonio Conte is still in pole position to get the job.
Conte has already given his shopping list to Roman Abramovich and has imposed as a condition to accept the job the purchase of three players: Paul Pogba, Marco Verratti and José Gimenez.
For the French midfielder, Pogba, Chelsea is ready to offer €90 million, so the decision is up to Juventus. Marco Verratti is the man whom Antonio wants to give the keys to for the Italian midfield at Euro 2016, to make him the real heir of Andrea Pirlo: so it's not a surprise that he would like to have him for his Premier League experience.
José Gimenez, of Atletico Madrid, is a real wonder of the last season and could be the right name to replace John Terry in the middle of the defensive line.
About Antonio Conte there's another variable to discover: what he will decide to do after Euro 2016 with Italy, if he will decide to keep on working with the national team until World Cup 2018 or end his experience to return to a club bench - which is surely more suitable to his personality and job.
Massimo Allegri has an unknown quantity to discover too, because his contract with Juventus will expire in June 2017: so, if he is the one chosen for the Blues, we will have to see what decision is made between him and the club from Turin or between the two clubs, themselves.
UNITED'S NEW ITALIAN
Luca Ercolani, a 16 year-old player of Forlì, in the Italian 4th Division, is close to joining Manchester United.
He's been two months on trial with the youth teams and United have decided to pay €75,000 to his former club to sign him.
Luca, who was a gymnast, started playing football as a striker, but soon was converted into a defender. Italy scout David Williams was taken by his performances, to the point that he has assured Man United management that Luca has all the skills to become a star. Guaranteed.
Williams is the same talent scout that brought two other two Italian players, Giuseppe Rossi and Federico Macheda, to United.
Ercolani's story tells us clearly that, even in today's football, sometimes dreams can come true.