Sarri ‘wants’ to stay and reject Juventus, but only if Chelsea ‘back him’ — report

The future of Maurizio Sarri is unknown, but should hopefully be made clear very soon.

The head coach himself confirmed yesterday that he will be meeting with the Chelsea directors and owner soon, and reports today out of Italy claim that the intermediary who seems to be involved in all things Sarri, Fali Ramadani, is jetting in as well. Whether he’ll help or hinder any negotiations or discussions remains to be seen.

In public, Sarri has claimed that he wants to stay, that he loves the Premier League (and certainly at least the idea of managing in it), and that he’s starting to feel like Chelsea are “his club” now. But it would appear that in order to actually stay, he wants to truly feel that. And in order to do that, he wants “full backing” from the club.

While it’s unclear exactly what that means, the Times surmises that it entails clear and full support from the club over his tactical and man-management methods. One might argue those are basic tenets for any managerial appointment, and basic demands from any head coach — and perhaps all Sarri needs is just a chat with the powers that be to clear the air, sort out any confusion or miscommunication, and get down to work on next season, with or without a transfer ban — but given the current nature of the relationship between fans and coach, a clear show of support form the Board, however that may happen, would not be the worst idea.

Or it’s all just a precursor to a move. Most still expect Sarri to leave, with the only real question being whether Juventus are willing to pay the compensation that Chelsea are apparently willing to accept.

We’ll just have to wait and see.