Italian Football Association (FIGC) president Carlo Tavecchio says the future of Italy coach Antonio Conte will be resolved in spring 2016, but admits the lure of the Premier League may turn the former Juventus boss' head.
Conte has a contract as Italy coach which expires after Euro 2016 and Tavecchio is keen on the coach extending it, given the job the 46-year-old has done since taking over from Cesare Prandelli in 2014.
Italy qualified for the next summer's European Championships in France with a game to spare, going through their qualifying campaign unbeaten.
The Azzurri's form helped to earn Conte La Gazzetta dello Sport's Coach of the Year award ahead of his Juventus successor Massimiliano Allegri, who led the Bianconeri to a Serie A and Coppa Italia double as well as the final of the Champions League.
Conte's stock is also on the rise in England, with Chelsea searching for a new coach from the summer once Guus Hiddink ends his spell as the interim manager following Jose Mourinho's sacking, and where the Italian is regarded as one of the strongest candidates.
Tavecchio has heard the rumours too and says it is going to be difficult to convince Conte to continue with Italy.
"I've got a meeting arranged with Conte in the spring and I want to keep him because it was I who wanted him, not only as head coach but also as the man responsible for all of the national team levels," Tavecchio told Radio Radio.
"I can't do any more than what I have already done with the sponsors, though, and there is a lot enticing him to northern Europe, and not only there."
Conte has so far avoided the subject of his future, but appears to crave a return to club management. He has often aired concern at the lack of time he gets to spend with his players, while he visited the training facilities of both Chelsea and Tottenham in February.
The coach was impressed with what he saw in England, saying of Spurs: "It looks like a very good place to work and for Tottenham Hotspur to develop their potential."
Conte led Juventus to three straight Serie A titles before resigning early on in preseason in 2014.