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After months of speculation, it looks like Chelsea will finally replace Antonio Conte with Napoli’s Maurizio Sarri, after comments made by the Italian club’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis.
It is a surprise that it has taken so long for any news to break on Chelsea’s new manager. For much of last season, it was clear that Conte was not happy in the role, whether that was down to the relationship with the players, or his constant disagreements with the board.
It was a great contrast to his first year in England, when he took Chelsea from a tenth place finish the previous season, to the title in dominant fashion. He did win the FA Cup last season, but he failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Given that we are now just over four weeks away from the start of the new Premier League season, it looks like a risk for Chelsea to leave it this late to change their manager, but Conte didn’t look like he really wanted at times last season.
Sarri is the man who Chelsea have turned to, and they will hope he can bring the same style of football he played at Napoli, and with it, a return to Champions League football.
He has spent all 13 years of his managerial career in Italy so clearly knows the nation and its players very well. De Laurentiis has already confirmed that Jorginho is likely to join him at Stamford Bridge, but here are five other Serie A players who he may look to bring with him to Chelsea.
#1 Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli)
Koulibaly has been linked with Chelsea in the past, but that was a couple of years ago, and it looked like they moved on a bit with the signing of Antonio Rudiger last summer. There is a chance that an interest may be reignited with Sarri’s arrival though, as he has been such a crucial part of his Napoli team over the past few seasons. He was on sensational form last season at both ends of the pitch, scoring five goals, including a brilliant winner against Juventus towards the end of the season.
He will cost big money for Chelsea though. He still has three years left on his contract in Naples, and at 27, he is at his prime, and if the Jorginho sale does go through, they won’t exactly be desperate to bring a bit more money in. There will be a worry that he can’t settle into the Premier League quick enough to justify that price tag. If he does come in, it will probably mean the likes of David Luiz and Kurt Zouma have to leave Stamford Bridge, as they will want regular first-team football next season.
#2 Andrea Belotti (Torino)
It is no secret that Chelsea had real problems in terms of striking options last season. Alvaro Morata signed for the Blues last summer for a club-record fee of around £60 million from Juventus. He made a good start to his time at Stamford Bridge, and scored his tenth league goal on Boxing Day, but only scored one more in the Premier League before the season was out. In the final couple of months of the season, he was left out of the side, with Olivier Giroud starting in his place.
It’s possible that Sarri will come in and look to bring in a striker to replace Morata, and Belotti could be the man he looks to bring in. He has a physical style that suits the Premier League, and given the success that Didier Drogba and Diego Costa had in a blue shirt, having a bit of target man up top suits Chelsea as well. Last season wasn’t a great one for Belotti, partly down to injuries, and he only got ten goals. He scored 25 goals the year before though, and proved he was an accomplished finisher. It might be a risk for Chelsea to move for him, but he is capable of getting goals.
#3 Daniele Rugani (Juventus)
Chelsea have already been linked with a move for Rugani this summer, with some suggesting that he may be about to move to Stamford Bridge in a deal worth around £40 million. Again, like Koulibaly, it will have to mean that one or two defenders have to go out the door, with David Luiz most likely.
Rugani is 23 now, and he may feel that it is time to move on from Juventus. He first moved to Juve in 2013, and after two seasons on loan at Empoli, has spent the last three years as part of the first team in Turin. However, he has never really established himself in the side. He is an excellent defender. He is strong, good in the air, and reads the game excellently, as well as being able to play out of defence with confidence. It looks like he is behind Giorgio Chiellini, Mehdi Benatia and Andrea Barzagli in the queue for places at centre back, and he may feel that his best chance of regular football is away from the Allianz Stadium.
#4 Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina)
Chiesa’s name probably isn’t one that is recognised much outside of Italy, but he looks like he could be a household name in the next few years. He is the son of former Italy striker Enrico Chiesa, who also played for Fiorentina during his career. At 20, his son is still at the beginning of his career, but has had a couple of encouraging years in Serie A.
He is already an important part of this Fiorentina side, having made 63 league appearances over the past two years, scoring nine goals in that time. He also made his Italy debut earlier on this year, and has now won five caps. He is very much a modern winger. He plays out on the left flank, and has the pace and skill to cut inside on to his stronger right foot. He has been highly sought after if reports are to be believed, but Chelsea, amongst others, may be put off by Fiorentina’s £62 million price tag.
#5 Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus)
For someone with such an impressive goal record, Higuain has an awful lot of critics. In his five years in Italy, he has scored 111 league goals in 177 games. In anyone’s books, that’s a very good record. Much of the criticism comes from struggles he has had on the world stage. He missed a number of chances in the 2014 World Cup final, as well as missing opportunities in both the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals.
Higuain has been strongly linked with a move to Chelsea in the past days, but it is unclear how much substance there is to those rumours. At 30, he probably wouldn’t be a long term solution for Chelsea, but for the time being, his age shouldn’t be too much of a problem, because he never really relied on pace in his career. He is usually excellent in front of goal, but he might not fit how Chelsea want to play.
