Chelsea and Antonio Conte are in a standoff. That much is clear.
The manager doesn’t want to quit because then he’ll miss out on his payoff.
The club don’t want to sack him, as they know he wants out, and are waiting for him to walk away.
This standoff is costing both of them dearly though.
Conte wants to move to a big job, and he has already seen a price choice almost off the market as PSG move for Thomas Tuchel.
The longer he hangs on at Chelsea, the more of these top jobs will go.
Equally Chelsea are watching their manager targets being taken off the table by clubs who are planning further ahead.
Both sides need to realise that for both of their sakes, ending the relationship sooner rather than later is beneficial.
Whether either is willing to take the multi-million pound hit is more questionable however.
