It hasn't been a season to remember for Chelsea thus far.

The Blues are the defending Premier League champions, but they find themselves 19 points behind runaway leaders Manchester City and down in fourth place, just one point ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham.

Antonio Conte was lauded for driving Chelsea to the title during his first season in charge, but now it seems as if his reign is hanging on by a thread.

After convincing defeats at the hands of Bournemouth and Watford, rumours have circulated suggesting that Conte doesn't have the confidence of the players anymore and as history tells us, that is the kiss of death.

Reports are it would cost £26.7 million for Chelsea to sack the Italian now and given that the Blues are about to enter a pivotal spell with games against West Bromwich Albion next Monday night, Hull City in the FA Cup, Barcelona in the Champions League and both Manchester United and Manchester City in the league, it's unlikely they'll change manager now.

However, that doesn't mean that they won't at the end of the season and according to a report from The Telegraph, that's what Chelsea intend to do.

Roman Abramovich wants former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique and the Spaniard is said to want to test himself in the Premier League against Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.

Enrique is in the midst of a sabbatical from football and does not want to take any job in England before the summer. However, he does want England to be his next destination.

The only other problem Chelsea might face in luring Enrique lies in Arsenal's interest. If Arsene Wenger departs at the end of the season like many close to the club believe he might, Enrique is also their priority.

Although Conte has supposedly lost the players at Stamford Bridge, Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini has revealed how intense it can be playing for him.

The 33-year-old told the Daily Mail: "It is not only in the match with Conte. It is all day, every training session. He is like a police sergeant.

"We felt something very special in his atmosphere, for three years with him at Juventus and two years in the national team."

Success didn't come easy either, as Chiellini admits: "When you finish training, you are dead. Not tired — dead. You can do it only because you believe in what he does."