5 Serie A players Maurizio Sarri could bring to Chelsea
After months of speculation, it looks like Chelsea will finally replace Antonio Conte with Napoli’s Maurizio Sarri, after comments made by the Italian club’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis.
It is a surprise that it has taken so long for any news to break on Chelsea’s new manager. For much of last season, it was clear that Conte was not happy in the role, whether that was down to the relationship with the players, or his constant disagreements with the board.
It was a great contrast to his first year in England, when he took Chelsea from a tenth place finish the previous season, to the title in dominant fashion. He did win the FA Cup last season, but he failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Given that we are now just over four weeks away from the start of the new Premier League season, it looks like a risk for Chelsea to leave it this late to change their manager, but Conte didn’t look like he really wanted at times last season.
Sarri is the man who Chelsea have turned to, and they will hope he can bring the same style of football he played at Napoli, and with it, a return to Champions League football.
He has spent all 13 years of his managerial career in Italy so clearly knows the nation and its players very well. De Laurentiis has already confirmed that Jorginho is likely to join him at Stamford Bridge, but here are five other Serie A players who he may look to bring with him to Chelsea.
#1 Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli)
Koulibaly has been linked with Chelsea in the past, but that was a couple of years ago, and it looked like they moved on a bit with the signing of Antonio Rudiger last summer. There is a chance that an interest may be reignited with Sarri’s arrival though, as he has been such a crucial part of his Napoli team over the past few seasons. He was on sensational form last season at both ends of the pitch, scoring five goals, including a brilliant winner against Juventus towards the end of the season.
He will cost big money for Chelsea though. He still has three years left on his contract in Naples, and at 27, he is at his prime, and if the Jorginho sale does go through, they won’t exactly be desperate to bring a bit more money in. There will be a worry that he can’t settle into the Premier League quick enough to justify that price tag. If he does come in, it will probably mean the likes of David Luiz and Kurt Zouma have to leave Stamford Bridge, as they will want regular first-team football next season.