Roman Abramovich is ready to appoint Napoli boss Maurizo Sarri as Antonio Conte‘s replacement at Chelsea, according to reports in Italy.
Conte is expected to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season and the Premier League champions are already looking at options to replace the Italian.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Abramovich has identified Sarri as Conte’s successor and is closely monitoring the 59-year-old’s situation at Napoli.
The report also claims that the Chelsea owner is ready to pay the €8 million (£7m) fee which would release Sarri from his contract with Napoli.
Sarri is now set to meet with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis to discuss his future with the Serie A club.
Earlier this week, De Laurentiis conceded that Sarri had a release clause in his contract and would be unable to prevent the Italian from leaving.
Sarri is now set to meet with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis to discuss his future with the Serie A club.
More: Football
‘I’d be really sorry if he’d leave at the end of the season,’ said De Laurentiis.
‘I can’t force him to stay at Napoli, he has a release clause and we have to accept this.
‘I’d really like to cancel his release clause in the future.’
Sarri was awarded as Serie A’s coach of the year last season and is currently battling Juventus for the league title this term.
More: Chelsea FC
[contf] [contfnew] 
METRO
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
