Sarri to avoid legal battle with Napoli but Chelsea looking elsewhere

For weeks, it seemed as if Maurizio Sarri was all but guaranteed to take over as Antonio Conte’s successor, but now it sounds like Chelsea have decided to look elsewhere. That’s despite Sarri deciding against waging a legal battle with Napoli.

According to a recent report by Il Mattino (via Football Italia), Chelsea’s interest in acquiring the services of the Italian manager has gone cold, and the club is looking at other, cheaper, more immediately available alternatives.

Meanwhile, Sarri has decided to not sue Napoli and is instead looking to negotiate a peaceful exit. Since he was not sacked, technically, despite Carlo Ancelotti taking over, his contract can only be terminated by mutual consent. Over the past week, as the deadline for his buyout clause came and went, Sarri’s situation devolved into legal threats and posturing, and while he’s appeared to have taken a step back from that path, Chelsea have apparently moved on.

So for now, Slavisa Jokanovic, Luis Enrique and Laurent Blanc, not necessarily in that order, are the front-runners for the Chelsea job, if we’re still looking to sack Antonio Conte at some point this summer.