Luis Enrique, Maurizio Sarri Linked to Chelsea Job Amid Antonio Conte Rumours
Luis Enrique is reportedly being lined up to replace Antonio Conte as Chelsea manager, despite Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri being the "dream" choice for Blues owner Roman Abramovich.
The Daily Telegraph's Matt Law, citing unnamed reports from Spain, noted Enrique already has a verbal agreement to take over at Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, the agent of Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola, Fulvio Marrucco, said: "Sarri as coach would be Abramovich's dream," per Neil McLeman of the Daily Mirror.
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However, a second Italian agent, Federico Pastorello, has revealed Chelsea's Premier League rivals Arsenal are keen on Sarri replacing Arsene Wenger for the 2018/19 season, per McLeman.
Sarri recently distanced himself from rumours linking him with Conte's job, when he told Mediaset Premium (h/t The Independent) he is ready to negotiate a new contract with the Serie A leaders.
Such a deal would leave Chelsea chasing Enrique, who won six trophies with Barcelona, including the treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League in 2015.
The former Spain international added a league-and-cup double the next season before closing out his tenure with another Copa del Rey triumph before being succeeded by Ernesto Valverde in 2017.
Law detailed how the 47-year-old ex-Barcelona player is already getting ready to move to England, as he's keen to test himself in the Premier League. However, the same report noted how Enrique is prepared to wait until the summer to take over from Conte, who is under increasing pressure, because he wants to bring his old coaching staff with him to west London.
Among his proposed staff, Enrique counts Celta Vigo manager Juan Carlos Unzue among his closest allies, but Law expects the latter to remain in La Liga.
One other point from the report concerns Thomas Tuchel, the former Borussia Dortmund manager who left the Bundesliga club amid controversy last summer despite winning the DFB-Pokal in his final season.
The acrimony of his split from Dortmund would rule Tuchel out of any final decision by Chelsea over him and Enrique, according to the report.
What is significant about all three main contenders mentioned for the job, is how they each insist on playing, attractive attacking football. Conte, despite winning the league title in 2016/17, has often been accused of a more pragmatic approach.
Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, now manager at Manchester United, was critical of the Italian's style, during an interview with Oliver Kay of The Times (h/t The Independent) in September.
Considering Conte's squad has quality attackers such as Eden Hazard, Willian, Pedro and Cesc Fabregas, more expansive tactics are possible.
Getting the most out of what he has continues to be a problem for Conte. The 48-year-old is facing mounting criticism after losing consecutive league matches, 3-0 at home to Bournemouth and 4-1 at Watford on Monday.
Those results have left the Blues fourth, with Conte saying after the Watford debacle Chelsea are free to move him on, per Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail: "I work every day, and I give 120 per cent. OK? If this is enough, it's OK. Otherwise, the club can take a different decision. But I'm not worried."
Yet the west Londoners remain content to keep Conte, even though there are rumours of discontent in the dressing room, according to BBC Sport's Simon Stone.
The stances of both Conte and Chelsea on his immediate future may be informed by the €30 million (£26.5 million) release clause the ex-Juventus manager would be owed if he's sacked now, per Sport (h/t Lucas Sposito of Sport Witness).
Enrique represents a curious choice to replace Conte despite his success at the Camp Nou, where he benefited from having Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at the peak of their powers, along with a burgeoning Neymar.
Even so, middling spells at Celta and AS Roma are also on the Spaniard's CV.
As for Sarri, the 59-year-old is earning plaudits for taking Napoli to the summit of the Italian top flight by building around the pace and quality of forwards Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens.
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