EMANUELE GIACCHERINI thinks there is a chance he could end up swapping Sunderland for Chelsea this summer.

Antonio Conte, the manager in charge of Italy at the European Championships, is a massive fan of the Black Cats forward and is aware that he is available on the cheap.

Giaccherini only has a year remaining on his contract at the Stadium of Light and Serie A clubs are lining up to offer him a permanent escape route out of the Premier League.

Fiorentina are the front-runners for his signature, but a move to Stamford Bridge to help Conte settle into his new role after the Euros is being considered.

One of Giaccherini’s representatives, Furio Valcareggi, thinks a switch to Chelsea might not be as wild as first seemed, particularly considering how well the player has played for Conte for both Italy and Juventus.

“Giaccherini is a player who played 80 percent of the games for a Juventus that had [Paul] Pogba, [Andrea] Pirlo, [Arturo] Vidal and [Claudio] Marchisio in the midfield," Valcareggi said.

"Conte likes him a lot and Chelsea would be a dream. It's still too early to talk about his future. After the Euros, whoever wants to buy him will not have to pay a high price to Sunderland."

Giaccherini, who scored a lovely opener against Belgium last week in France, moved to Sunderland for £6.5m in July 2013 and failed to hold down a regular place under Paolo di Canio, Gus Poyet and Dick Advocaat.

He was already on loan with Bologna when Sam Allardyce took over last season but the Sunderland boss is willing to let him leave this summer.

Sunderland, meanwhile, have announced that part of their Premier League preparations will be a week-long trip to France.

They will be based in the south-eastern region of the country for seven days and have three friendly games scheduled.

The trip begins with a game against Stade Nyonnais on Monday, July 25. Sam Allardyce’s side will face Dijon on Wednesday, July 27 and the tour is capped off with a fixture against Montpellier on Saturday, July 30.

The games are being played at neutral venues and not at the home stadia of the teams involved. Stadium and ticket details are to be confirmed. They also play at Hartlepool United on Wednesday, July 20 before travelling to Rotherham on July 23.