Gab Marcotti puts himself in the shoes of the Chelsea brass and explains why the club should hold off on replacing Antonio Conte with Maurizio Sarri. John Obi Mikel explains why he believes that as long as Roman Abramovich is in charge of Chelsea, fans shouldn't be concerned for the club's future. Frank Leboeuf joins the FC panel to talk Laurent Blanc's reported link to the open Chelsea job.
Chelsea are closing in on the appointment of Maurizio Sarri as their new manager with club legend Gianfranco Zola lined up as his assistant, sources close to the ex-Napoli boss have told ESPN FC.
Sarri has been Chelsea's top target to replace Conte all summer and sources have told ESPN FC that progress has been made in talks with Napoli over a compensation fee.
Chelsea's pursuit of Sarri has been ongoing for several weeks with the two clubs haggling over Sarri's release clause.
Sarri left Napoli last month after guiding them to second in Serie A, four points behind winners Juventus.
Antonio Conte's future at Chelsea has been the subject of speculation for several months with it being widely reported that he would be leaving Stamford Bridge this summer.
Conte has one year to run on his contract at Chelsea and the club would have to pay him off if they were to dispense with his services and that has delayed any move for a new manager.
Chelsea are also lining up a move to appoint Zola as Sarri's assistant to help him settle into English football.
Peter O'Rourke is ESPN FC's transfer news correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @SportsPeteO.
Comments
Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on ESPN's media platforms. Learn more.
Source: espn.co.uk