Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea Move in the Balance After Conflicting Reports Emerge Surrounding His Future

​Chelsea's hunt for a new manager remains ongoing and conflicting reports from Italy and England have emerged surrounding one of their top targets, former Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri.

Sarri guided ​Napoli to second in ​Serie A during the 2017/18 season and gave ​Juventus a serious run for their money and at many points during the season. Although Chelsea's current manager Antonio Conte is still in charge at Stamford Bridge, it looks highly likely that he won't be in the dugout at the start of next season.

It remains a delicate situation for Chelsea as firing Conte will cost the club a sizeable amount, whilst Napoli are not prepared to let Sarri move to London without getting their own financial compensation - despite the fact he is no longer in charge for the Italians.

Now, two separate reports have emerged which confuses the situation further. Respected Italian journalist Raffaele Auriemma has told Radio CRC (via ​TuttoNapoli) that Sarri's move to Chelsea is all but done and that a move is just 'days away'. According to Auriemma, Sarri beat both Luis Enrique and Laurent Blanc to the job and that when Sarri moves to Chelsea, he will pursue a number of current Napoli players, including Gonzalo Higuian.

Unfortunately for Chelsea fans, the reports have been dismissed by the ​Daily Telegraph, who have suggested that, although a deal is in the works, it is no where near complete. Conte is remaining committed to earning his £9m payoff and, until that happens, no deal for Sarri can be finalised.

Whatever happens this summer, it looks as though Chelsea will be doing everything they can to bring in Sarri to steady the ship. Conte isn't leaving behind a disaster and it is very likely that if Sarri is given a reasonable budget, he can guide Chelsea back up the league.