Chelsea Transfer News: Sarri set to be released by Chelsea, certain to take over at Juventus

What’s the story?

According to British media reports, Chelsea have agreed to release Maurizio Saari after agreeing on a compensation deal worth over £5 million with Juventus. Although it looked likely that Chelsea would release their manager for free, the Blues threw a curve ball at Juventus during the negotiations, demanding a fee in excess of £5 million from the Italian club to trigger his release. The amount could reach as high as £8 million if certain bonuses are met during Sarri’s time in Turin.

In case you didn’t know...

Although it is looking increasingly likely that Sarri will leave Chelsea this summer, the true reason for his release is shrouded by speculations aplenty. Even when rumours were afloat of his likely dismissal at the turn of the year, when results weren’t going Chelsea's way, the Blues did not lose faith in him. He repaid the faith by helping Chelsea finish third in the Premier League, thereby securing Champions League football for the upcoming season. Chelsea also won the Europa League by beating Arsenal 4-1 in the final in Baku.

Although it is still unclear why Sarri is possibly leaving Stamford Bridge, the price that Juventus are paying to get him on board points more to the Italian's desire to leave the club rather than Chelsea’s inclination to sack their manager.

The heart of the matter

Over the past five seasons, Chelsea have followed up a great campaign with a mediocre one. They won the Premier League in 2014-15 and 2016-17, but finished 10th and fifth in 2015-16 and 2017-18 respectively. There are serious, yet unidentified problems at the club.

Chelsea’s management hired Sarri to takeover and steady the ship last summer. The 2018-19 campaign got off to a great start for Chelsea as they went on a 12-game unbeaten streak in the league. They were playing great football in the Europa League as well.

But a sudden slump in form during the turn of the year brought about a downslide in their title aspirations. The team went from bad to worse, until they were thoroughly humiliated by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. The scoreline read 6-0, and Chelsea fans began to turn on Sarri. However, they did get their campaign back on track at the business-end of the season.

The Europa league trophy, being runners-up in the League Cup and a third place finish in the Premier League meant it was a good debut season for Sarri at Chelsea.

Few expected his first season to be his last at the club.

On the other hand, Juventus are on the lookout for a new manager after parting ways with Massimiliano Allegri at the end of the season. As a result, they have zeroed in on Sarri to succeed Allegri at the club.

What’s next?

Juventus are knocking obstacles out of their way to reach Europe’s summit next season. They broke the bank to bring Cristiano Ronaldo to Turin last summer, and the £5 million compensation fee have not deterred them from pursuing Sarri this summer. They are also in talks to bring Paul Pogba back to Italy.