SARRI FOR THE DELAY

Blues finally say goodbye to Conte & install new boss

CHELSEA will finally replace Antonio Conte with Maurizio Sarri this weekend as they prepare for pre-season.

The FA Cup winners have been poised to part company with Conte since May but the Italian has refused to resign despite Chelsea’s agreement with former Napoli boss Sarri (right) to take over. It has left several players sweating on their futures with decisions needing to be made. A number of agents, keen to discuss transfers, remain in a holding pattern while the Blues sort out their managerial impasse.

Chelsea’s non-World Cup players return from their summer holidays this weekend. They will spend around 10 days at the club’s Cobham HQ before leaving for a training camp in Perth, Australia.

Although the players will merely be having medical and fitness tests on their return to London, Chelsea chiefs want to have Sarri in place by the time they report for duty.

The players in action at the World Cup have been given staggered return times, dependent upon progress in Russia. While Chelsea have been trying to unravel the ConteSarri puzzle, some players have already decided they want to move on. Willian (far left) wants to join Barcelona in a £70million deal. And Belgian international keeper Thibaut Courtois (left), who has just a year left on his contract, has indicated a interest in joining Real Madrid, leaving Chelsea to weigh up a bid for Roma keeper Alisson.