3 Possible Destinations For Maurizio Sarri

#2 Zenit St. Petersburg

Zenit's players would be open to working with a magician like Sarri

Zenit has emerged as the dark horse candidate to sign Sarri this summer. While his move to St Petersburg may seem improbable, Zenit is also the club requiring his services the most. This need may push the Russians to do everything in their power to lure the Italian.

The team is currently contending with incumbent manager Roberto Mancini's decision to move on this summer. As one of the biggest clubs in Russia, the pressure is on them to sign another marquee manager who can continue to consistently deliver the goods domestically and even lead a deep run in European competitions- and Sarri is the man for the job.

It is being reported that they have offered the former Empoli boss a guaranteed €4 million for his services apart from lucrative incentive-based bonuses. Russia is set to host the FIFA World Cup next month and a number of Zenit players are in line to gain valuable international experience while playing in the tourney.

It is in the best interests of the club to capitalize on this increased visibility and exposure by maximizing the output of their squad- under the management of an astute tactician like Sarri.

The Italian may be persuaded to take up the Zenit assignment because of lucrative payments and the challenges that the assignment offers. In this case, Sarri is provided with a fresh but challenging project by Zenit in Russia. While in Napoli, Sarri focused, for most of his time there, on building a team that can challenge Juventus' domestic dominance.

However, in Zenit, he already has a squad that would be expected to win the Russian League- and the focus will be on making inroads in Europe, which is a fresh challenge altogether. He will inherit a squad that has a good mix of European pedigree, experience and young talent in players such as Aleksandr Kokorin, Leandro Paredes and Branislav Ivanovich.

The high money departures of Axel Witsel and Hulk to the CSL last season give Sarri some initial capital that can be invested in bringing in new faces to the setup. Unlike at Napoli, where De Laurentiis criticized Sarri constantly about a percieved lack of squad rotation, at Zenit Sarri will benefit from increased autonomy in squad selection and tactic employment, without external interference.

While it is not a conventional move, the host of factors in play may well motivate Sarri to take his talents to Russian shores next summer.