Napoli are willing to reduce the asking price for Maurizio Sarri as the Italian has been linked with a move to Chelsea. The Serie A club have already signed Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager but have Sarri on their books for another two seasons.
A report from The Mirror claims that the Chelsea-linked manager had a £7million buyout clause which expired on 31 May. Now, they are willing to reduce their asking price to £4.5million in hopes that the Blues appoint the Italian.
Antonio Conte’s tenure at Stamford Bridge seems to be coming to an end and Sarri looks the closest to join, even though we have been linked with Laurent Blanc and more recently Jorge Sampaoli.
However, with Sarri’s asking price dropping, it would make sense to enter negotiations now and complete the deal quickly.
There is the complication of having to pay Conte off should he be sacked and it is a bit of a surprise as to why we still have the Italian on board given that he has fallen out of favour at the Bridge under our management.
Sarri would also have to bring in a few players to overhaul the squad and the longer we waste time on appointing a manager, the greater it will hamper our work in the transfer window.
This is a conundrum as sacking any player or manager makes them liable to a pay-off while if they resign, more often than not, the club does not have to pay a penny.
Hopefully, Sarri can be announced quickly and the planning for next season can start with the new Italian at the helm.