It has been one of the worst-kept secrets in football, as well as one of the longest-running managerial saga’s, but Chelsea are seemingly finally close to appointing Maurizio Sarri as their new manager.
The 59-year-old has been heavily linked with taking over at Stamford Bridge for a number of months, with current boss Antonio Conte having been expected to be sacked almost immediately after the conclusion of last season.
Incredibly though, the 2016/17 Premier League winner is still in charge at Stamford Bridge and has even been pictured taking charge of the club’s first pre-season training sessions.
Despite this, and some reports suggesting that Conte could indeed see out the remaining year of his contract at Chelsea, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed that he has finally come to an agreement regarding the future of Sarri.
Speaking at the unveiling of former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti as the club’s new manager, De Laurentiis announced that a deal to see Sarri take over at Stamford Bridge is now ‘close’:
“Sarri is close to being new Chelsea manager. My lawyers are in talks with his lawyers to finalise everything.”
De Laurentiis also confirmed that Chelsea are set to beat Man City in the race to sign Jorginho, who has reportedly flown to London to finalise the deal.