Maurizio Sarri
According to a recent report by the Metro, Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is said to have agreed on a deal with Italian champions Juventus with a view of potentially taking over as first-team manager next season.
It is being reported that the Italian was willing to see out his contract at Stamford Bridge but the Blues hierarchy dismissed this offer and are willing to let to Italian leave after just one season at the club.
Maurizio Sarri is the former Napoli manager who was brought into the Chelsea picture after a long-drawn transfer saga that involved the Italian, the Blues and the Napoli president.
Although slurs were exchanged at regular intervals by all the involved parties, at the end of it, Sarri, along with his Italian midfield commander Jorginho, were heading to west London.
He was seen as the ideal attacking manager who was going to revolutionise the way in which Chelsea play.
Their former core consisting of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba is now a thing of the past and this lack of leadership and motivation within the side has certainly slowed down Sarri’s progress at Stamford Bridge this season.
Despite the addition of Jorginho in what is an attempt to take control of possession in all games, the Blues have struggled to maintain the pace that Sarri required from his sides.
His highly successful Napoli’s side’s most important trait was the willingness to work and considering that Chelsea is full of massive personalities, this kind of play didn’t come easy to them.
Although they showed signs of picking up the style he demand in the early parts of the campaign, it was becoming clear to see that the likes of Willian, Pedro, David Luiz and even Cesar Azpilicueta didn’t have the energy or stamina to produce what is expected of them for a full 90 minutes.
After altering his tactics to work for this Blues side around the midway point in the season, the league was a real struggle for the Blues.
If it wasn’t for the magical play of Eden Hazard, who knows where Chelsea could’ve ended up at the end of the season.
Thanks to pure luck, all of the other teams in the top-four race dropped crucial points in the final weeks allowing Chelsea comfortable 3rd place finish. Added to fact that they beat Arsenal to secure the Europa League title as well, Sarri’s first season can’t really be seen as a bad one.
Read More Chelsea News, Click Here: Chelsea News
Despite all of this though, it doesn’t seem like the Italian’s gung-ho attacking style will ever work in the Premier League. Their defeat at the hands of Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium was just an example of what teams can do to a Maurizio Sarri side once they figure out the tactics.
The Italian’s time at Stamford Bridge looks like it’s drawing to a premature close but the Blues will do well to let him leave if they are to make progress next season.