Chelsea FC News

Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri could be appointed as Antonio Conte’s successor at Chelsea as early as Monday, according to various reports.

There has been endless speculation surrounding who will be appointed as the new manager at Stamford Bridge this summer, with former Paris Saint-Germain manager Laurent Blanc being mentioned once a deal for Sarri was thrown into question.

Talks between Chelsea and Napoli’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, reportedly stalled due to a disagreement over compensation as Chelsea refused to meet Sarri’s release clause.

But Italian newspaper Il Mattino (via Football Italia) have added to reports yesterday surrounding Chelsea’s next appointment by confirming that Sarri could actually be brought in at Stamford Bridge at the start of next week.

The Blues must first appoint club legend Gianfranco Zola as their new director of football, with a view that the 51-year-old will act as a link between Sarri and the Chelsea hierarchy.

Sarri will also hand decisions over transfers to Zola this summer, with the Napoli boss eager to focus on his role as a head coach.

Italian side Napoli have already taken steps as they prepare for Sarri’s departure, confirming that former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti will take over at the Stadio San Paolo ahead of the new season.

The club’s president De Laurentiis has also confirmed that the club have been looking to dip their toes in the transfer market this summer, with Napoli looking to spend over €100m to sign Alisson Becker and Federico Chiesa.

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??Liverpool are reportedly keen on beating ?Chelsea to the signing of Porto left back Alex Telles this summer. The 25-year-old has a £35m release clause in his contract in Portugal, and Jurgen Klopp is looking to strengthen the left side of his defence ahead of the new campaign.

Winning the Primeira Liga last term, Telles contributed strongly to his team’s success with some solid defensive displays, and 14 league assists to match. Incredible numbers for a defender, and he’s attracted heavy interest from the continent.

Until now, Chelsea were the team looking most likely to gain his siganture, having been in the market for left back since last year. However, according to Le Parisien (as per Metro), Liverpool are looking to hijack the Blues’ potential deal.

French champions PSG are also reported to be interested in the player, and while Chelsea have been plotting a move ever since January, they now face the prospect of a bidding war for Telles.

Klopp’s interest arrives as Alberto Moreno looks likely to be leaving Merseyside. The Spaniard lost his place to undisputed first choice Andy Robertson last season, and after a few years of underwhelming at Anfield, he finally edges his way out of the club.

As a result, Klopp sees Moreno’s exit as an opportunity to bring some competition for Robertson. Telles would prove a worthy adversary for the Scottish full back, and with such a hectic schedule brought by the Premier League, Champions League and domestic cups, strength in depth is a very important factor to any side’s season.

On the other hand, Chelsea are looking to press on with transfer business despite Antonio Conte’s situation. the Italian is expected to be sacked at some point this summer, but nobody knows when.

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Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri is edging closer to a move to Chelsea this summer despite recent rumours that a deal for the 59-year-old had fallen through, according to reports.

Sarri has already been replaced at the Stadio San Paolo by former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, but Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has been stubborn with the west London club over how much compensation the Ciucciarelli should recieve.

There was a €8m release clause in Sarri’s deal in Naples which Chelsea were unwilling to match, causing talks with the Italian manager to stall.

But that clause expired last month and Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport claim that talks with Sarri are now back underway, with Chelsea expected to reach an agreement with De Laurentiis over compensation for the move.

It is expected the Italian head coach will sign a two-year contract at Stamford Bridge but there will be an option to extend the deal for another season.

Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola is also expected to follow Sarri to west London this summer to act as his assistant manager.

The former Italy international spent six years at Stamford Bridge during his prestigious playing career, making 284 appearances for the club where he scored 69 goals and claimed 16 assists.

The 51-year-old has also spent over a decade working his way up the managerial ladder in world football, starting off as the assistant with Italy’s U21 side.

He then has spells at West Ham and Watford which were followed with a return to Italy where he took charge of Cagliari. Zola then came in at Qatari side Al Arabi before returning to England as the manager at Birmingham City, but he has been a free agent since his time at St Andrew’s came to an end in 2017.

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Premier League bosses announced fixtures for the eagerly anticipated 2018/19 Premier League season, Chelsea bringing the curtain up with a trip to Huddersfield Town on Saturday 11^th August. The Blues are then at home to Arsenal in a London derby seven days later before visiting St James Park.

All eyes are currently fixed on Russia with the host nation kicking things off with a stunning 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia in Moscow. That result moved bookmakers to shorten the world cup 2018 betting odds on a home win, a market dominated by Brazil and Germany.

The race to be crowned kings of planet football captures the imagination but there will be plenty of punters on the lookout for their value fix in the early Premier League betting. Manchester City have been scratched up as convincing favourites to win two-in-a-row with no more than 8/13 available at Paddy Power.

Source: ArsenalFanTV via Twitter

Liverpool are expected to be the champions’ main danger at 9/2 and you have to cast your eye down to fifth in the betting to find Chelsea written off as 10/1 outsiders. If odds compilers are to be believed the Stamford Bridge residents will end behind the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham again.

Fans are demanding improvement in the coming months, starting with a strong showing in the summer transfer window, much better than we saw this time last year when Antonio Conte missed out on a host of targets including Belgian scorer Romelu Lukaku. Names currently being linked to the bridge are Alfie Mawson, Alisson Becker and Anthony Martial.

A return to the top-four and Champions League football is the least season ticket holders expect but there’s a competitive 8/11 trading, that quote leaving them fourth in the list. Average punters can ignore a top-six finish at 1/7.

Source: Absolute Chelsea via Twitter

A squad low on confidence will require a strong start to the season and bookies expect Chelsea to hit the ground running with a comfortable win over The Terriers at Kirklees Stadium on matchday one. A punt on the visitors will land supporters 2/5 at the time of writing and that’ll surely pull its weight in accumulator bets. The draw goes 3/1 with Huddersfield 5/1 for an upset.

The prices would suggest a strong away win is on the cards but checking the head-to-heads stats tells a different story. From 66 recorded matches in competitive action the scores stand at Chelsea 29-27 Huddersfield with 10 draws. The pair played out a rather uninspiring share in their most recent meeting, Alonso responding to cancel out a Depoitre opener early in the second-half.

Both teams to score would’ve been settled as a winning bet on that occasion and the result fell into line with the trends. Both clubs have found the net at least once in each of their last four with a 1-0 Huddersfield win back in 1999 the odd one out in seven – a run stretching back to 1983.

That appears to have been lost on odds-makers who have no in the both-teams-to-score field as favourite – 8/11 at Paddy Power against the 11/10 for yes.

?Chelsea have been handed a massive blow in their hunt for Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri. The Ivorian has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge this summer, but he looks to be preferring a switch to Napoli instead.

Reports have emerged recently claiming that the Blues are in advanced talks for the 26-year-old, and that Seri wants a move to the Premier League over anywhere else. However, it seems that’s not the case, with the player’s agent confirming contact from Serie A.

Speaking to CalcioNapoli24, Seri’s agent Franklin Mala has admitted that a move to the Italian club is a priority for the Ivorian.

“We hope to have positive news in the next fews hours in Naples,” Mala began.

“Informal contacts with Napoli, there is still no lunge from De Laurentiis’ company. We are ready to meet Napoli. Napoli is in pole position.

“Seri prefers the Piazza di Napoli compared to others, all in such a way as to close the negotiation.

“The €40m (£35m) termination clause expires on July 15, so you have to pay it by this date. After July 15, Nice can ask for any amount.”?

New Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti is looking to strengthen his side ahead of the new season, hoping to topple current champions Juventus. In order to that, he wants to strengthen, and with Jorginho expected to leave soon, Seri would make the perfect replacement.

As Mala said, Seri’s Nice clause has to be triggered before July 15, so if there is to be any movement, it will likely come within the next month.

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