Sarri will be a success at Chelsea, says Koulibaly

Kalidou Koulibaly, the Senegal defender, has effectively confirmed that Maurizio Sarri will be Chelsea manager after delivering a ringing endorsement of his work at Napoli.

Speaking after Senegal’s 2-1 win against Poland on Tuesday, the defender also stressed that Sarri would need time at Chelsea but was confident that he would ultimately deliver exciting football.

“You can expect nice football because he’s a very good coach,” said Koulibaly. “It’s disappointing that he leaves like this. We have now a big coach and we know we can win something with him. I hope he can win something with Chelsea.

“When a person like this comes, he needs time. They have to give him time because he will suit the football of Chelsea. I think Chelsea fans will enjoy the style of football he plays. At Napoli, we enjoyed so much the play and the supporters enjoyed so much too. I think at Chelsea it will be the same.”

Chelsea are now close to confirming the appointment of Sarri, who has been Napoli manager for the past three seasons, and it is also believed that he is keen on the idea of having club favourite Gianfranco Zola with him. Zola would be a popular appointment with both the fans and a number of Chelsea’s first-team squad, and there is likely to be space for him either on the coaching or technical side.

If Sarri does join Chelsea then he will likely come up against one of his former players after Manchester City finally agreed a deal with Napoli for Jorginho worth an initial £43.1 million after weeks of protracted negotiations with the Italian club. The Premier League champions are hopeful of completing the transfer in the coming days and it is thought the fee could rise up to £48.3 million with add ons.

Napoli had been holding out for around £50 million for the Brazil born Italy midfielder but City were reluctant to go that high and have been able to agree a smaller fee.