Antonio Conte wants to stay at Chelsea 'for many years' as club prepare lucrative new contract offer

Antonio Conte says he wants to stay at Chelsea “for many years”, and is ready to sign an extension to his contract, although the club are now expected to give the title-winning a manager a higher-paid new deal after Saturday’s FA Cup final with Arsenal.

Despite being on the brink of a double in his first season in England, Conte’s future has been the subject of repeated speculation, with newly wealthy Internazionale known to be interested. The Italian however re-asserted his desire to build a long-term legacy at the club, and Chelsea are also expected to reward him by making him the highest-paid manager they’ve ever had.

“At the moment, my situation is very clear,” said Conte. “I have two more years' contract with the club. Then, if the club give me the possibility to stay here and to extend my contract, for sure I am available to do this.

"But we have the same idea about the future. The way we have to do things together, to improve the squad and the team. But, I repeat, I'm happy for this season and am happy to stay here. I hope to stay here for many years.”

Conte meanwhile described how he contacted Arsenal to try and observe how Arsene Wenger when he was a young manager, but that the club were “very busy” at the time. The Italian still feels Wenger is “one of the best managers in history”.

“Obviously I tried to contact Arsenal during my experience in England when I visited Chelsea, West Ham and Tottenham. But they were very busy at the time and, for this reason, I didn't have the possibility.

"I saw the game Arsenal against Monaco, when they lost at home, but I didn't have the opportunity to see Wenger. To see the job he was doing during the training session. I would have liked it, but it was not possible.

“When you stay for a long time at the same team – we're talking about a great team, not a small team – we must consider him like one of the best managers in history. He won a lot. When you stay a lot for a long time in the same team, someone can forget this. But Arsene Wenger is, for sure, a really good manager for me.”