Real Madrid have returned to talks with Antonio Conte in recent days.

AS says on Saturday evening, after defeat to Levante, a call from Real was fielded by Federico Pastorello, the agent of former Chelsea boss Conte.

Real chiefs were prepared to sack Julen Lopetegui on Sunday and replace him with the Italian, but cooler heads prevailed.

Real president Florentino Perez will not remove Lopetegui before their Champions League tie with Viktoria Plzen tomorrow. However, he is prepared to sack his coach before the El Clasico this weekend against Barcelona.

Pastorello has made it clear Conte would be keen to succeed Lopetegui - and the Italian is now the board's priority should they choose to part with the Basque.