When was the last time this many major, league-winning managers were in the market for new jobs? Between Chelsea's December sacking of Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola's decision to leave Bayern Munich for Manchester City at the end of the season, there is a lot of upheaval going on in the top-flight coaching markets right now.
Unsurprisingly, all of that upheaval is leading to some pretty big rumors about where various big-name coaches are going to end up in 2015/16. Guardiola has already been appointed at Man City, and Carlo Ancelotti has taken over Guardiola's old Bayern Munich job. But the Guardiola move displaced Manuel Pellegrini, Jose Mourinho is still in the market for a new job, and Louis van Gaal could be on the lookout soon, as well.
Official Juventus Shirts Store
Allegri's Exodus
You can also add Massimiliano Allegri to the list of major managers who may or may not be taking on new challenges for the 2016/17 campaign. Allegri, who took over at Juventus in 2014, has reportedly agreed to a four-year deal to become Chelsea FC's new manager. If these rumors are true, Allegri would take over in the summer, once Guus Hiddink's interim stint is finished.
Upfront, we should say that these rumors should be taken with a grain of salt. For one thing, Allegri has a contract with Juventus that would likely prevent him from taking a job with Chelsea next season. Though the Italian manager originally signed on to a two-year deal with the Zebras-which would have kept him at the soccer club until the end of the current season-he also inked a one-year contract extension last July. Barring a sack, that extension means that Allegri is bound to Juventus until the end of the 2016/17 football season.
Of course, it's not unthinkable that Allegri could have negotiated an exit with Juventus, or that Chelsea could have just made the decision to buy out the extra year of his contract. However, the rumors of Massimiliano's Chelsea contract also state that he will lead an exodus and take "three of his closest colleagues" to Stamford Bridge. Would Juventus be willing to let such an event happen with a coach they have under contract for another year?
The list of rumored Chelsea targets is also so long at this point that it will be tough to take anything seriously until the club makes a concrete announcement. In addition to Allegri, the Blues have also reportedly been considering Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Mark Hughes (Stoke City), Jorge Sampaoli (formerly the coach of the Chile national team), and Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City).
Does Allegri Want a New Challenge?
Perhaps the most interesting part of this particular rumor is the idea that Massimiliano Allegri would want to leave Juventus at all. The manager hasn't been with the club for very long and, again, just signed a contract extension last July.
Furthermore, Juventus are in a much better position at the moment than Chelsea are, contending for their fifth consecutive Serie A title and looking to replicate last season's runner-up run in the UEFA Champions League. By comparison, Chelsea have only won the English top-flight title five times total and bowed out of last season's Champions League in the round of 16-despite being in the midst of a dominant Premier League campaign.
The rumor of Allegri's Juventus departure suggests that Allegri is "keen to leave" Juventus in order to undertake a new challenge in England. Plenty of managers-Pep Guardiola among them-have used similar explanations to justify leaving their posts with dominant international clubs to coach less dominant teams in the Premier League. Allegri, who took up managing more than a decade ago, has never coached a football club outside of Italy. In other words, he could be itching to go elsewhere, but leaving Juventus in the middle of a contract doesn't seem to be the way to go.
Is this rumor just a rumor, or is there some truth to it? Would you like to see Allegri coaching the wearers of the Chelsea blue kit next season, or do you think he should stay with Juventus? At Soccer Box, we want to hear your thoughts and predictions! You can find us on Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr and other popular social platforms.