After dispensing of Stefano Morini's coaching services, troubled Italian Olympic and world champion Federica Pellegrini is in talks with Philippe Lucas, mentor to her arch rival of yore, Laure Manaudou, that may result in the nomadic French coach pitching his tent in Verona.

After a mixed 2010 season that ended in a lacklustre set of performances at the world s/c championships in Dubai last month, Pellegrini parted company with Morini, former assistant of Alberto Castagnetti, coach to Pellegrini until his death in the autumn of 2009.

The move is the latest twist to a tortured tale that led Manaudou to leave Lucas in the wake of a stellar effort at the 2007 world championships for a life with Italian beau Luca Marin, before Marin left Manaudou for Pellegrini and Manaudou returned to France on a journey that would end in a last-place finish in the Olympic 400m free final in which the Italian was also locked out of the medals as Britain's Rebecca Adlington took the first of her two Olympic crowns.

Lucas travels to Italy this week to hold further talks with the world 200m and 400m freestyle champion and record holder. If talks go well, Lucas would then meet the swimmer's agent, on behalf of sponsors, and the President of the Italian Federation, Paolo Barelli, also Hon Sec of FINA, the international body. There is much at stake when it comes to Italy's prime aquatic asset, and neither Lucas nor Italy would wish Pellegrini to end up at the same disappointing destination as that suffered by Manaudou before she quit the sport officially in 2009.

In considering the talks between Lucas and Pellegrini, the Gazetta dello Sport today considers the suitability of a coach who has in recent times lost a string of swimmers, including Manaudou, former European backstroke champion Esther Baron, backstroke aces Pierre Roger and Camille Lacourt as well as Swedish sprinter Gabriela Fagundez. The report also notes that Lucas has gone the distance with Camilia Potec, 2004 Olympic 200m free champion from Romania and of late in Paris has been coaching backstroke specialist Jeremy Stasiulis and freestyle sprinter Amaury Leveaux.

On the darker side, reminds its readers that Lucas was fired from Canet over disputes with other employees and in May 2008, in the midst of an old dispute with the Circle of Melun Val de Seine, his and Manaudou's original club, spent a night in police custody, accused of misappropriation of cheques to the amount of about 25,000 euros. He was forced to return some of the money he received during his time at the Circle but told the French media: "I'm not cheating, if I was training Manaudou again, such lies would not be told."

Gazzetta's Stefano Arcobelli asks Lucas is he will move permanently to Verona. He replies: "We have not decided yet, but Federica feels at home in Verona and it is essential that a swimmer of her calibre is in harmony with herself and in a place she loves. But I still have to evaluate my position in relation to my swimmers. It is a matter of timing." And what of Marin and all that came to pass with Manaudou and pornographic pictures of her posted on the internet? "I spoke with Federica and that episode of the past ... it was no fault of Luca's." If Marin wanted to train to get back to long-lost form, the French coach would be there to help.

Meamwhile, Manaudou has long moved on: partner to Fred Bousquet and mum to Manon, the former Olympic 400m free champion is now back on the comeback trail, though the French federation's technical director Christian Donze said late last year that the swimmer had a long journey ahead of her to get back to best. 

Neither Manaudou nor fellow comeback queen Libby Trickett (AUS) will be eligible to race at world titles in Shanghai in July owing to anti-doping rules that dictate a nine-month period of testing availability before a swimmer is allowed to race in a meet that would qualify them for a FINA championship.