Antonio Conte is moving closer to becoming the next manager of Chelsea as the two sides have begun agreeing to deals for some of his backroom staff.

Conte has been the frontrunner for the Chelsea job for several weeks.

Conte has impressed Chelsea's hierarchy and he is expected to sign a three-year contract soon, probably at some point next week.

But Conte has yet to meet Roman Abramovich in person and expects to do so within the next week.

Conte’s contract with Italy runs out after the Euro 2016 finals in France in the summer and he is keen to return to club management.