Although it has certainly taken a very long time, Chelsea FC are now close to completing the deal that will replace manager Antonio Conte with Maurizio Sarri. Stamford Bridge is also closing in on a deal that will transfer Italy international and Napoli playmaker Jorginho to the Blues.
This according to Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis, who made these revelations at a news conference introducing Carlo Ancelotti as the new boss of the Serie A side.
“(The deal bringing Sarri to Chelsea F.C.) is about to happen, it just depends on him. My lawyers have written up the paperwork which has been passed on to his lawyers and now we’ll just have to see,” De Laurentiis told reporters at the introductory presser.
Sarri was pegged as Chelsea’s top choice to replace Conte months ago, and this story has been circulating for weeks already, but the transaction has been held up by De Laurentiis and his stubborn demands for more compensation from Chelsea, as the Blues failed to meet the deadline on Sarri’s release clause.
As for Jorginho, there had been reports earlier this window that Manchester City had reached an agreement with Napoli for his transfer, but Pep Guardiola’s number one midfield target has his heart set on joining Chelsea instead.
Thus, the deal was not completed and De Laurentiis explained why.
“Although I consider (Jorginho) a great player, for Ancelotti’s style of play and in view of the (lack of) credibility from the Chinese for (Marek) Hamsik, we’ve decided to accept the request which first came from Manchester City, and I have to apologize to them,” De Laurentiis said.
“I’d agreed a deal with them a fortnight ago, resolving various issues, but the player prefers London to Manchester and I can understand him, and then Chelsea are going to pay him more so I can understand him even more and I can’t do anything about it.”
The Manchester Evening News reported that City value the Brazilian born Jorginho at around £35 million, while Napoli are seeking a sum closer to £53 million. Chelsea, according to reports and to De Laurentiis himself, are willing to outspend City on the opportunity to acquire Jorginho. The 42 reports that Chelsea will fork over a combined fee of €58m (£51.3m) plus €7m (£6m) in add-ons to Napoli for the pair.
The Napoli chair also added that Jorginho joining Chelsea in not dependent on Sarri taking the job as Blues boss.
Chelsea have not signed a single player this summer transfer window, as the uncertainty in the managerial situation has prohibited any business from getting done. As for the reigning Premier League champions, they announced their first signing of the summer transfer window, Leicester City star Riyad Mahrez, yesterday.
So it’s safe to say that it’s been a very quiet summer transfer window for both of these super rich Premier League big six clubs, but that seems poised to change very shortly. Once the Jorginho and Sarri deals are complete, one can expect a few more transfer dominoes to fall into place.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud and YouTube. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to any and all of his.