Chelsea close to Maurizio Sarri, but have hit the 11,000th snag
By Travis Tyler
Chelsea are once again close to completing a deal for Maurzio Sarri. Yet once again, their is a snag. It is a small one, but one that could blow it all.
For the 11,000th time since the FA Cup final, Chelsea are close to signing Maurzio Sarri. But because nothing can be simple (or no one knows what is going on), the Blues have hit another snag. It is a small one, but one that could cause the Blues to blow the deal.
Basically, Chelsea will be allowed to release Sarri at a cut rate, provided they agree not to active the release clauses of Elseid Hysaj, Raul Albiol, and Piotr Zielinski. On paper, that should be no big deal, but in practice the Blues have been linked to all three at various times in the past few weeks.
That really should be no big deal. None of the three players are necessary for Chelsea. But they have all been linked, which means the either Sarri or the club wants them in Blue (well, better Blue). If the three are high priority targets for Chelsea, would they further delay and perhaps even scuttle the Sarri deal for the players?
Of the three, holding out for Hysaj would make the most sense. He is a fantastic right back, but Chelsea also have one currently in Cesar Azpilicueta. But Azpilicueta is getting older, and purchasing a quality deputy would not be unwanted.
The other two are absolutely unnecessary. Chelsea have been linked to center backs over the last few weeks but it is their most deep position. And Albiol would really fail to strengthen over anyone the Blues currently have on the roster.
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Zielinski would be a luxury buy that at least fits a role Chelsea are lacking. But midfielders like him are much easier to find than other positions. If the Blues truly want a midfielder of the same mold, they can find one. But they should not hold out for Zielinski, helpful though he may be.
Then there are questions as to what this deal will mean for Sarri himself. Sarri has taken players from club to club before. Is that because he needs deputies to get the squad on board? Or perhaps he wants to start a bit ahead with adapted players. Either way, will Sarri be upset that Chelsea are finally freeing him from his deal, only to sacrifice the familiar players he wants?
The Blues can very easily blow this deal at the final, simplest hurdle. The Blues have consistently targeted one type of player at a time over the last few seasons and it would not be hard to assume that they only have eyes for those three players. It would not be unexpected at this point for the Blues to hold out and hope Napoli blink sooner.
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But it does appear that this entire situation is coming somewhat close to an end. Chelsea have needed a new manager and they are about to get him for cheaper than they have any right to after all their antics. They need only keep the deal alive by sacrificing three unnecessary players.