Chelsea will turn to Guus Hiddink if, as is expected, Carlo Ancelotti is sacked at the end of this season.

However, whether Roman Abramovich can persuade Hiddink to rejoin Chelsea remains to be seen. The 64-year-old Dutchman, who is in charge of Turkey, is reluctant to become a full-time club manager again. Former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is understood to be pushing for consideration, should a change be made.

There is also a lobby for Abramovich to approach the highly rated Andre Villas-Boas, who was part of Jose Mourinho's staff at Chelsea and is forging an outstanding reputation at Porto.

Yet it would appear that Abramovich is determined first to attempt to bring back Hiddink. If Chelsea were to appoint the former Russian coach, it would allow them to groom a younger man to work alongside Hiddink.

Abramovich has yet to inform those around him whether he intends to remove Ancelotti, but sources at the club, and also those close to the manager, fear the Italian will be unable to see out the final year of his contract.