Chelsea have earmarked Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri as the man to succeed Antonio Conte, claims 7 Gold Television, via Football Italia.
Conte’s long-term future at Stamford Bridge remains uncertain and there are suggestions this could be his last season at the club.
The Italian penned a bumper new deal in the summer but did not extend the length of his contract, doing nothing to clarify his position at the club.
There are still rumblings of unrest at Chelsea and the defending Premier League champions are reportedly ready to coax Sarri away from Napoli if they part ways with Conte.
Sarri has assembled one of the most exciting footballing sides during his two years as Napoli head coach and is widely regarded as one of the most underrated coaches on the continent.
The 58-year-old has a €7.5m (£6.7m) release clause that Chelsea would have no trouble matching and the English giants are reportedly even willing to hand Sarri a mammoth deal worth €12m (£ 10.7m) a year in order to prise him away from Naples.
Sarri’s Napoli side are currently well-positioned to mount a serious title challenge and wrestle the Serie A title away from Juventus’ hands for the first time since 2011.
Napoli haven’t won Serie A since the 1989/90 campaign but have the chance to return to the league’s summit if they beat Genoa on Wednesday night.
