Crucial Chelsea development on Monday as key figure tipped to arrive in London, budget for new boss touted

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Chelsea are reportedly edging closer to securing the appointment of Antonio Conte’s successor, with key developments expected on Monday.

The Italian tactician delivered a Premier League title in his first season in charge before winning the FA Cup last year.

SEE MORE: Chelsea tipped to make player swap offer to land £60m summer target

However, particularly given the Blues missed out on the Champions League for next year, it has raised question marks over his stay at Stamford Bridge and now it appears as though Chelsea are edging closer to appointing his replacement.

According to Il Mattino, Maurizio Sarri will fly to London on Monday to wrap up the final details of his deal to take charge of the Premier League giants, with claims that he will sign a contract until 2021 while it’s also suggested he will live within the Cobham training complex.

Given the ongoing speculation surrounding the former Napoli boss and a move to Chelsea, it remains to be seen whether or not next week proves to be decisive, but with pre-season fast approaching, the Blues will surely want their new boss in place as soon as possible to start planning ahead of next season.

However, if Sarri was expecting that he would receive a sizeable transfer kitty on arrival at the club, The Express report that Roman Abramovich is only willing to splash out up to £60m this summer.

That shouldn’t be a major issue for him given that he didn’t demand big spending at Napoli before knocking on the door for a Serie A title, and so perhaps the match up could be an ideal fit for both parties with Chelsea likely to adopt a very different style of play under the Italian.

Conte has had a very pragmatic and organised style over the last two years, while Sarri has shown at Napoli and Empoli that he prefers to play more expansive football with high and intense pressing. In turn, it could be an exciting change of approach from Chelsea if a deal is reached.

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