Chelsea Ready to Derail Napoli Star's Move to Man City & End Agonising Wait for New Manager

Chelsea are reportedly preparing to make a shock bid for Napoli star Jorginho, in order to hijack his expected transfer to Manchester City.

According to the Corriere dello Sport - via Calcio Mercato - the Blues hope that, by signing the Brazilian-born Italy star, they will finally be able to appoint former Napoli head coach Maurizio Sarri as their new manager.

Chelsea have been trying to confirm Sarri's appointment for some time, but Napoli are not making it easy for them - not least by demanding exorbitantly high compensation for Sarri.

However, by signing Jorginho - whose transfer to Manchester City seems to have stalled because of wrangling about bonuses - the Blues could potentially remove all remaining obstacles to Sarri's appointment.

As argued by Manchester City expert Sam Lee, Sarri's appointment as Chelsea boss could potentially scupper Jorginho's move to City. The Sky Blues' policy is solely to recruit players who genuinely want to play for them, and they aren't prepared to match other clubs' wage offers in order to lure players to the Etihad.

Sarri managed Jorginho at Napoli, so if Sarri joins Chelsea, the player may be sorely tempted to move to Stamford Bridge - he wouldn't take the 'City or bust' approach. Also, if history is anything to go by, Chelsea will be happy to lure him with higher wages than City are prepared to offer.

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Whatever Chelsea's motives in terms of appointing Sarri, they may simply be more desperate to reinforce their squad than Pep Guardiola, whose side won the Premier League at a canter last season. Meanwhile, Antonio Conte's Blues slumped to fifth place, missing out on next season's UEFA Champions League.

Whoever signs him, Jorginho is bound to be an asset to his future club. He is rated as one of Serie A's finest midfielders, and he scored twice and created four goals in the league last season.