Antonio Conte has never cut an entirely happy figure at Chelsea despite winning the Premier League in his first season in English football.

A combination of homesickness and disagreements with Roman Abramovich over the club's transfer dealings have left the Italian's future looking ever more uncertain.

In a recent radio interview, the former Juventus boss admitted he did not intend to manage abroad for much longer. That's sure to rattle Chelsea fans.

If he is allowed to bring in a few more top signings in January, that should placate him for a while - but only if he is able to keep his current squad intact.

The absence of European football last season was undoubtedly a huge bonus, as the Blues look to be lacking in depth. After allowing Diego Costa to join Atletico Madrid, they will certainly not be looking to sell any more of their key men.

However, it appears they are in genuine danger of losing Thibaut Courtois, not for the first time.

The Belgian has long harboured ambitions of returning to La Liga, where he spent three years with Atleti.

After Chelsea's ill-fated 2015/2016 season which featured a falling out with the club's goalkeeper coach, it seemed almost inevitable that the stopper would be on his way out.

The question of his future is once again on the agenda as he enters the final two years of his contract. Chelsea will be reluctant to allow him to stretch into the final 12 months this summer, so they are understandably keen to offer him a new deal now.

One destination in mind 

What is worrying is that Spanish publication Marca suggest he has already set his sights on playing for Real Madrid and knows Chelsea's hand may be forced in 2018 because they won't want to lose him for nothing a year later.

Zinedine Zidane may have chosen to stick with Keylor Navas for now in spite of a number of errors last term. Yet, with the Costa Rican not getting any younger at 30, Los Blancos are still thinking about long-term replacements.

It's reported that Courtois is seen as ideal because at 25, he has the ideal mix of youth and experience. The same could also be said of Manchester United's David de Gea.

Courtois is said to feel indebted to Chelsea for taking a gamble on him when he was a young player back in 2011, but he is now having to weigh up whether his time in the Premier League should come to an end.

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