Maurizio Sarri leaves Napoli and moves step closer to Chelsea appointment

MAURIZIO SARRI has left Napoli – leaving the door open for a move to Chelsea.

The Serie A club’s president made the announcement on Twitter, with Carlo Ancelotti now expected to succeed Sarri in Naples.

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Aurelio De Laurentiis tweeted: “I would like to thank Maurizio Sarri for his precious dedication to Calcio Napoli, which has made it possible to give prestige and emotion to the city and to the blue fans all over the world, creating a model of play admired everywhere and by anyone. Bravo Maurizio.”

Sarri rejected a £5.2million-a-year offer to manage Zenit St.Petersburg as he holds out for a move to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has gone on holiday but faces a summer of massive uncertainty over his future because of his fractious relationship with club bosses.

Meanwhile, Ancelotti met with De Laurentiis in Rome last night.

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Sarri’s departure is now expected to spark a chain of events that will see him replace Conte, with Ancelotti set to be announced as Napoli’s new boss this week.

Sarri has been heavily linked with taking over from Chelsea’s feisty boss, who won the FA Cup on Saturday after a season in which he took a series of digs at the club over transfer spending.

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TRUE BLUE Willian desperate to stay at Chelsea… but it depends whether Antonio Conte is sacked

If Conte is sacked then Blues will have to pay £9.6m for the final year of his contract or until he gets another job.

One spanner in the works could be that owner Roman Abramovich is not in the UK due to visa issues.