Chelsea Reportedly Open Talks with Maurizio Sarri over Manager Role

Chelsea have reportedly opened talks with Maurizio Sarri about potentially replacing Antonio Conte as the club's manager. 

According to Alfred Pedulla of SportItalia (h/t Football Italia), despite the Serie A side appointing Carlo Ancelotti as their new head coach, they still want compensation from Chelsea before letting Sarri move elsewhere. It's said an €8 million (£7 million) release clause in his contract has recently expired.

It's noted that Tuesday will be vital in determining whether or not Sarri will end up making the move to Chelsea. The Blues are said to be ready to offer the Italian a three-year contract.

Additionally, Chelsea will reportedly seek to negotiate with Napoli for the signing of right-back Elseid Hysaj as part of any package for Sarri. Blues defender David Luiz is said to have been offered to the Serie A side in return.

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It's a complicated situation for Sarri, who is still employed by Napoli, and Chelsea, whose current manager Conte still has one year remaining on his Blues contract.

Conte's future appears to be in doubt, though. Despite winning the Premier League and the FA Cup in his two seasons at the club, Chelsea were only able to finish fifth in the top flight last season, meaning they missed out on UEFA Champions League football for 2018-19.

As noted by Jan Aage Fjortoft, considering the circumstances the Italian took over in, he's done a fine job overall:

Even so, at this juncture his position appears precarious, and the links to Sarri don't seem to be dying down any time soon.

It had been reported by Sky in Italy (h/t Sky Sports News) that Chelsea had reached an agreement with Sarri over personal terms to become the club's new manager. However, the Premier League side are not willing to pay significant compensation to bring in the 59-year-old.

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The interest in Sarri makes sense, as the Napoli man has done a terrific job at the San Paolo in recent seasons.

Sarri has crafted a team that not only plays electrifying football but is difficult to beat. Last season they accumulated 91 points in the Italian top flight; remarkably that wasn't enough to win the title, as Juventus edged them in a thrilling battle.

These figures put into context what a wonderful job Sarri did with the Neapolitan outfit:

Now he finds himself in a difficult situation, with a new manager in place at Napoli and his employers demanding payment before letting him move on. As noted by Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph, the whole situation is messy:

For Conte and Sarri, a swift resolution to this saga would be beneficial, as both can begin preparing for whatever challenges they face next season.

If Sarri was appointed as Chelsea boss there would be some concerns, the most notable being he's never managed outside of Italy before. But if the Blues were to meet Napoli's demands, it would be a significant show of faith in one of Europe's most intriguing coaches.