Massimiliano Allegri in Chelsea and Manchester United frame after Juventus coach starts English lessons

Allegri is out of contract with the reigning Serie A champions at the end of next season and could be destined for the Premier League

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri is understood to be taking English lessons (Getty Images)

Massimiliano Allegri could be heading for the Premier League after it emerged that the current Juventus coach is taking English lessons in an attempt to learn the language should a move to England become available, with the 48-year-old believed to be in the running for the Chelsea job in the summer.

Allegri currently has 18 months left on his Juventus contract despite leading the side to a fourth straight Serie A title last season as well as the Champions League final, where they lost out to Barcelona.

Having taken over from former coach Antonio Conte – the current Italy national team manager – in 2014, Allegri is still in his first contract with the reigning Serie A champions, although their campaign this season got off to a poor start before results picked up towards the end of the year.

Juventus are currently fourth in the league table, just three points off leaders Inter Milan, although at the start of October they were down in 15th after showing form not too dissimilar to Premier League champion’s Chelsea this season, with both teams struggling to defend the crowns they won earlier this year.

Both Allegri and Conte are believed to be on Roma Abramovich’s radar for the Chelsea job which will become vacant at the end of the season when interim manager Guus Hiddink leaves, although the Independent understands that Conte is currently favoured by Stamford Bridge officials should they raid Italy for their next manager.

However, the Daily Mirror reports that Allegri has already started to learn English and is keen on landing the top job at either Chelsea or Manchester United, with Louis van Gaal’s future at Old Trafford far from certain. United’ board have shown an admirable resilience to sacking Van Gaal despite a run of eight matches without a victory, although Van Gaal has twice informed the club that he wanted to resign only to be talked out of a departure by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

Van Gaal could yet walk if results fail to pick up, but should the Dutchman see out the remainder of his three-year contract, he will leave United at the same time as Allegri’s deal with Juventus expires, paving the way for the Italian to enter the race to be United’s next manager.

With Pep Guardiola believed to be nearing an agreement to join Manchester City in the summer when he leaves Bayern Munich, and Carlo Ancelotti already confirmed as his replacement at the Bundesliga club, the availability of world class managers is suddenly looking thin for both United and Chelsea. Jose Mourinho remains the obvious choice for United after the Blues sacked him earlier this month, but there remains reservations at Old Trafford over his suitability for the role and Allegri could prove to be a useful alternative.

Conte meanwhile would need a deal to be agreed with Italy before he could take up such a role with Chelsea or indeed another club, with the 46-year-old set to take Italy to the European Championships this summer. It’s believed that he could make a decision regarding his future as early as spring 2016, with the Italian Football Association keen to award him a two-year contract extension should results at Euro 2016 prove adequate.