Maurizio Sarri in limbo and waiting for Chelsea offer with future of Antonio Conte and Alvaro Morata uncertain

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Simon Johnson24 May 2018

Maurizio Sarri is waiting anxiously to see if Chelsea make him an offer to replace Antonio Conte as manager.

Sarri was left stunned on Wednesday after being effectively sacked by Napoli and seeing former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti installed at the helm.

The situation is all the more confusing because Napoli claim the 59-year-old is still under contract and the £7million release clause, which is in his deal and expires at the end of the month, is still in place.

With Chelsea’s managerial situation still unclear, three clubs have moved to sign striker Alvaro Morata after only one season at Stamford Bridge.

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Sarri has already been offered a contract by Zenit St Petersburg but his preference is to move to Stamford Bridge.

It has been reported in Italy that Sarri’s agent, Alessandro Pellegrini, is flying to London today to meet with Chelsea for talks.

But the Blues have yet to dismiss Conte. The Italian, who has one year left on his deal, will be paid his weekly salary in compensation until he finds another job if he is fired.

Sarri has impressed the Chelsea hierarchy with his style of play at Napoli, whom he led to second in Serie A.

However, he is renowned for having a fiery personality, which has led him to fall out with Napoli chairman Aurelio de Laurentiis. That, along with not wanting to pay his release clause at Napoli, are factors why Chelsea are deliberating over whether to follow up their interest.

Conte’s relationship with the board became increasingly tense over the past 12 months, as he complained about the club’s transfer business.

Standard Sport revealed on Monday that De Laurentiis had met Ancelotti for talks in Milan over becoming the new manager.

The deal was completed yesterday and De Laurentiis effectively broke the news that Sarri’s time at the club was over on his twitter account.

He wrote: “I’d like to thank Sarri for his valuable contribution to Napoli. He brought joy and prestige to Naples and Napoli fans with an entertaining brand of football.”

Like Conte, Morata faces an uncertain future at Chelsea. Juventus, AC Milan, and Atletico Madrid are all keen to make a bid for the £58m striker, who joined during last summer’s transfer window.

The Spain international paid the price for a disappointing campaign with the Blues by being left out of Spain’s World Cup squad. Morata scored 15 goals in all competitions but seven of those came in his first eight appearances.

He has struggled to adapt to English football and has found it hard to settle in London.

Morata and his agent were spotted meeting with Juve sporting director Fabio Paratici yesterday in Milan.

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