Chelsea close on on sensational double deal for new manager and midfielder

Chelsea have moved ahead of rivals Manchester City in the race to sign Napoli midfielder Jorginho, claims Gianluca Di Marzio.

City have been locked in talks with Napoli for the Italy international since the end of last season but have struggled to get a deal over the line.

Pep Guardiola wanted Jorginho signed and ready to start pre-season with the rest of City’s non-World Cup players this week, but is now set to miss out on another top transfer target.

The Premier League champions are only interested in signing players completely committed to joining the club, which is why they allowed Alexis Sanchez to join Manchester United in January.

Chelsea have also been in negotiations with Napoli about prising manager Maurizio Sarri away from the club but are refusing to pay a huge compensation bill for the Italian.

The west London outfit now believe they have come to the perfect compromise by agreeing to pay more for Jorginho than City in order to land Sarri for nothing.

City have refused to match Napoli’s valuation of Jorginho and only want to pay in the region of £45m for the 26-year-old, but Chelsea are ready to gazump their rivals with a package worth €65m (£57m).

Jorginho has developed into one of the best central midfielders in Europe in the last two years under Sarri. In fact, no player averaged more passes per game than Jorginho (96.9) in Europe’s top five leagues last season.