Chelsea ready to ramp up pursuit of Maurizio Sarri as manager search continues

Chelsea are ready to ramp up their pursuit of Maurizio Sarri.

Reports in Italy suggest Monday will be critical in negotiations between the Blues and the former Napoli coach.

Serie A expert and journalist Alfredo Pedullà is claiming Chelsea are preparing a ‘hot and heavy push’ for the Italian at the start of next week.

Roman Abramovich is keen to appoint a new manager but is yet to agree on a financial package with current boss Antonio Conte as his protacted exit talks continue.

Sarri has been locked in his own contract wrangle with his former employers despite Napoli confirming Carlo Ancelotti as their new man at the helm.

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Chelsea have so far been unwilling to pay a fee to extract Sarri from his deal in Naples as he still has two years left to run on his terms with the Italian club.

His contract was not terminated despite Ancelotti being installed in the dugout to leave him in limbo ahead of the new season.

Conte, meanwhile, is looking to receive his full £9million pay-out from the Stamford Bridge club if he gets the push from Abramovich.

The messy saga has left preparations for the new Premier League season behind schedule as the rumblings behind the scenes continue to cause disruption.

Director Marina Granovskaia, a trusted aide of Abramovich, is leading the search for new players but is finding it difficult to nail down targets without a manager in place.

High-profile signings are not keen to commit to the Blues without knowing who will be in the hotseat come the start of the new campaign.

The new Premier League fixtures for the 2018/19 campaign will be released on Thursday morning.