Next Roma manager contenders

Coming out of retirement to rescue his boyhood club, Claudio Ranieri has worked wonders at AS Roma after steering the Giallorossi from relegation trouble into contention for a UEFA Champions League berth.

The 73-year-old received a fabulous tribute in his penultimate match with a tifo which described him as, "A great leader ... a true Romanista", and whoever succeeds Ranieri at the Stadio Olimpico has big shoes to fill.

With a number of high-profile candidates linked to the vacancy, we've assessed the candidates to become next Roma manager.

Nuno Espirito Santo

Earmarked as relegation candidates at the start of the campaign, Nottingham Forest have surprised everyone to be in contention for a top-five Premier League finish and Nuno Espirito Santo is the man who's engineered their incredible ascent.

The former Wolves and Tottenham manager has won three Premier League Manager of the Month awards this campaign and is in contention to be named Manager of the Season.

Despite bringing European football to the City Ground for the first time in over 30 years, Nuno's relationship with Evangelos Marinakis has been scrutinised of late after the Forest owner appeared to confront his manager following a 2-2 draw to Leicester City.

Latest reports indicate Roma's owners The Friedkin Group have offered Nuno a two-year contract as they aim to build on the club's positive trajectory in the second half of the campaign.

Massimiliano Allegri

Roma's managerial vacancy has been persistently linked to Massimiliano Allegri, although the Italian is reportedly a frontrunner to inherit the Napoli gig should Antonio Conte choose to leave at the end of the season.

Allegri is a serial winner, having led Milan to the Scudetto in 2011 before winning five successive Serie A titles with Juventus from 2015.

His latest stint with the Old Lady failed to scale the sensational heights he achieved during his first spell in Turin, but he still guided the club to success in the Coppa Italia and if Roma are eager to attain silverware, they may have to look beyond Allegri's pragmatic style.

At the end of April, Ranieri dropping an interesting line concerning the future of Allegri, saying: “Will you see him here in Rome next year? I think so... Wearing a Roma jersey? No, that I don’t know.”

Thiago Motta

Hailed as one of European's brightest managerial minds after hauling Bologna from relegation plight into the UEFA Champions League, Thiago Motta's move to Juventus was a failure.

The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder was unable to translate the progressive style of football he implemented at Bologna to Juventus and as results deteriorated, Motta ultimately paid the price.

Was the jump to Juve too soon in his fledgling managerial career? Potentially. An opportunity to commission Roma's ambitious project may enable Motta to reproduce the same magic at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.

Motta is already acquainted with one of Roma's star prospects, Matias Soule, and the opportunity to work with the Giallorossi's promising pool of players would be an enticing one for the Italian.

Francesco Farioli

Not only did Ajax's staggering capitulation result in them relinquishing the Eredivisie title to PSV Eindhoven, but it prompted Francesco Farioli to tender his resignation.

Farioli had already been linked to Roma in previous weeks and while the nature of Ajax's stunning collapse may prompt some to question his credentials, attaining the former OGC Nice head coach has become considerably easier now he's unattached.

In spite of missing out on the Eredivisie crown, Farioli still performed a stellar job in the Dutch capital having restored Ajax near the summit following two tumultuous seasons.

Speaking to Ziggo Sport on his decision to quit, Farioli said: ”I’m a very demanding person. Before going to a team I lay out everything on the table. The word demanding is probably the best to describe me. I want to find a club that is willing to fight with me.”