Diego Simeone to Chelsea over or is there still hope for Roman Abramovich?

Roman Abramovich's pursuit for a replacement for Jose Mourinho goes on and most reports would have you believe that Antonio Conte is the firm favourite for the job. I just wonder if Diego Simeone is still in frame despite these reports?

What Diego Simeone has achieved at Atletico Madrid is amazing and to sell off his best players for a hefty profit and remain challenging Barcelona and Real Madrid for honours every season is a real credit to him.

You watch him on the sidelines and he lives and breathes football. He barks his orders, he encourages his players and almost kicks every ball with them. It's the way his team works for him and each other which is the most inspiring.

There are no real big, big stars in their team just household names and that's because of how successful they have become under Simeone who has taken the club to the La Liga title and Champions League final in recent seasons. It's their work ethic, their defensive organisation and real collective team spirit that shines bright and has caught the attention of the Chelsea Owner.

Some say that after the dramas with Jose Mourinho, Roman doesn't want to see Chelsea's name being dragged through one controversy to another and he is wary of the fiery character of Simeone but I don't buy into that at all.

The stumbling block with Simeone however is his reluctance to confirm any interest until after the season has finished that is a problem. Recent reports state that Abramovich wants the new manager in place within a couple of weeks from now so any form of a delay is an issue but you have to respect Simeone's wishes to not do a Guardiola but to remain focused on the club that still pay his wages until the summer.

Something is telling me that this whole deal for Conte (more on that to follow shortly) is not as cut and dried as people are making it out to be.

Diego Simeone still has a chance in my opinion. What do you people think?