Sarri arrives to replace Conte at Chelsea

MAURIZIO SARRI was expected to fly into London by today to seal his appointment as Chelsea’s new boss.

The former Napoli manager is due to sign a two-year deal, with an option for a third season.

Sarri, 59, has told the Blues he wants to live in Cobham, Surrey, close to the club’s training ground. He has earned a reputation as a workaholic coach.

Although he turned Napoli into an exciting attacking force in Serie A last season, his appointment represents a significant gamble by Chelsea on a man who does not speak English and whose knowledge of the Premier League is limited.

However, to help smooth over any lingusitic difficulties, Sarri has asked for Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola to join his coaching staff and could not have made a better choice. Voted the club’s all-time favourite player, Zola remains universally popular among Blues’ fans and is also a fluent English speaker.

Sarri’s appointment spells the end of Antonio Conte’s two-year reign as boss.

And in a sure sign the free-spending days are well and truly over, the club are trying to claw back a large chunk of Conte’s £9m (RM48m) pay-off. With owner Roman Abramovich temporarily denied a visa to Britain, a new era of austerity is dawning.

And to justify a reduced payout to Conte, Chelsea have consulted lawyers to argue that Conte’s mismanagement of Diego Costa’s transfer last summer led to the Spain striker’s price being devalued.

If this is how Chelsea intend to operate, Sarri may find his wish-list for new signings drastically reduced. Conte, who was denied his own first choice acquisitions, experienced belt-tightening from the beginning of last season.

Meanwhile, former Stamford Bridge assistant Steve Holland, who is probably feeling he is well out of Chelsea at this moment, claims that England boss Gareth Southgate ranks up there with some of the club’s great managers.

He said: “Gareth ticks so many of the boxes that the best that I’ve worked with tick.

“I worked with Mourinho, I worked with Ancelotti, I worked with Benitez, Conte...it was an incredible environment.

“All of the managers I worked for had different qualities, different strengths and different weaknesses, but they were all the same in that they were totally single-minded. Very, very clear on how they wanted things to be done.

“Gareth is very clear on what he wants and has been right from the start.” – Agencies