Antonio Conte to take Chelsea training on Monday despite belief he will still be sacked

Conte will be back taking Chelsea training on Monday. [Photo/Courtesy]

Antonio Conte is set to take Chelsea training today despite the expectation that he won't be in charge once the season starts.

Chelsea have been set to part with Conte this summer and have spent the summer trying to negotiate a deal with ex-Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri to replace him.

They have also targeted a number of transfer targets Sarri has approved.

But neither deal has been finalised leaving Conte still in charge and he will begin preparing Chelsea for the new campaign with today's session, the first of a gruelling pre-season schedule he has planned.

Chelsea players are among those surprised by the bizarre situation and that Conte is still around to put them through their paces as they too thought he would have left.

But he has a year left on his contract and vowed to fulfil his responsibilities as long as he remains head coach.

Conte is digging his heels in, has no intention of resigning and wants his full £9m pay-off to go.

Maurizio Sarri is still expected to take over as manager. [Photo/Courtesy]

If he is sacked Conte will continue to be paid his salary for up to a year until he finds a new job.

And with all the big vacancies gone, that has left Chelsea facing a hefty compensation bill for Conte and his staff which has led to a stalemate in negotiations.

Conte's relationship with the Chelsea hierarchy broke down over his criticism of the club's transfer policy and he was involved in more tension over the players' pre-season return date.

The Italian didn't want his squad back until today but the club stuck to their guns and Chelsea's non World Cup players returned on Saturday for fitness testing and stretching.

Eddie Newton oversaw the training session involving the clubs younger and academy players. Conte was at Cobham, though not involved with either group of players.