Premier League: Enrique and Allegri on Arsenal and Chelsea shortlists

It’s all getting a little confusing in the managerial merry-go-round with Chelsea and Arsenal simultaneously chasing Luis Enrique and Massimiliano Allegri, at least according to the British tabloids.

The Daily Star claims that former Barcelona boss Enrique is “stalling on Chelsea” as he waits to see if Arsenal will come calling.

Apparently the 46-year-old “tops the Blues’ shortlist of potential replacements for their unsettled Italian boss Antonio Conte” but he’s dithering over the opportunity because he’d rather take on the challenge of rebuilding the Gunners.

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The Star says that Arsene Wenger’s position “remains unclear” with little clue coming from the Emirates hierarchy as to whether he will be fired at the end of the season.

Much depends on the Gunners’s Europa League campaign and whether they can qualify for next season’s Champions League by winning Europe’s secondary competition.

Consequently Enrique is caught in two minds with the Star alleging that he “would prefer to make his return to football at the Emirates Stadium rather than Stamford Bridge because of Chelsea’s reputation for constantly hiring and then firing managers”. Then again, he could yet agree terms with Paris Saint-Germain, who are also said to be keen on hiring Enrique following another flop in the Champions League.

But the Metro has a different take on affairs with the paper claiming that Arsenal’s “top target” is Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri.

The former AC Milan gaffer is on the brink of winning a fourth consecutive Serie A title this season and Metro says his that his “managerial excellence has not gone unnoticed” by the Gunners.

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has Allegri at the top of his summer shopping list to replace Wenger, although the paper says that Chelsea have “added him to their shortlist of potential candidates to succeed Antonio Conte”.

And lo and behold, PSG are also said to keen on hiring Allegri, proof that it’s a small world in the world of football transfer talk.