Conte under the Chelsea microscope at Euro 2016 – Desailly

Marcel Desailly says Chelsea fans will be scrutinising Antonio Conte closely during Italy’s Euro 2016 campaign.

Conte is due to take over at Stamford Bridge after the Azzurri’s involvement in the European Championship comes to an end.

The 46-year-old won three consecutive Serie A titles as Juventus coach before taking the national team post.

He will be expected to make an immediate impact in west London, Chelsea having finished a distant 10th last season, as a disastrous defence of their title cost Jose Mourinho his job.

Desailly, having played for Chelsea between 1998 and 2004, will be among the interested observers during Euro 2016 seeking clues on what is in store for the Blues under the incoming manager.

“Conte, for sure we are looking at him,” he told Omnisport.

“We have our eyes on him to see his movement, attitude, if he is going to come back a winner of the Euro and bring Chelsea to a different dimension. 

“We also wonder does he have time to build up the team that will suit his philosophy because … either they [the players] are tired and do not suit your way of [playing] the game, so does he have time?”

While a positive performance from the Azzurri will give Chelsea cause for optimism, Desailly also believes a swift exit could free up Conte, having already demonstrated his credentials in Turin, to concentrate on his new role. 

“We hope that Italy will get out of the tournament quickly for him to get more focused on Chelsea … because he has nothing to prove anymore,” he said.

“He has been a good player. I played against him when he was at Juventus and with Juventus he did well [as a coach]. 

“Let’s see, but there is a lot of work to do with Chelsea. You will have to remove a few players to start fresh.”

Marcel Desailly is leading Carlsberg’s Revolution to give away more UEFA EURO tickets to real football fans than ever before.