Chelsea look to have ended their interest in Maurizio Sarri as a replacement for Antonio Conte and will now go after a World Cup winner and former Manchester United star.
Chelsea are unwilling to pay former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri’s €8m release clause and will now go after Laurent Blanc to replace Antonio Conte.
Despite regular links between Chelsea making a move for Maurizio Sarri to replace Antonio Conte, it looks as though their interest in the manager could have ended. Football Italia have reported this evening that the Blues are unwilling to pay Sarri’s €8m release clause.
While Sarri was sacked by Napoli and replaced by Carlo Ancelotti last week, he is still contracted to Napoli’s wage bill until his €8m release clause is triggered. Chelsea therefore look to be reluctant to part with such a huge figure for the boss.
Instead, the previously mentioned report has stated that Chelsea have now met with former PSG boss Laurent Blanc.
The move for Blanc could be a controversial one with the defender having once played for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Blanc was highly successful as a player and even lifted the World Cup in 1998 as part of a French side that included Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Viera.
Blanc was unable to grant PSG the Champions League success that the French champions craved during his time managing the Ligue 1 champions with the Frenchman parting ways with the club in 2016.