Antonio Conte remains in charge at Chelsea despite former Napoli boss, Maurizio Sarri waiting in the wings.
There may still be the semifinals and final of the World Cup left to play but for most players, their attention has moved to the start of the upcoming season. The European 2018/19 season is now less than a month away and players who haven't been involved in the World Cup have started to return to their respective clubs so that they can begin pre-season training.
You would think with the World Cup allowing more time for soccer clubs to get their ducks in a row while most of their players are away that everything would be sorted and ready to go by now. Well, at Chelsea that is not the case. Current manager, Antonio Conte may have a year left on his Stamford Bridge contract but he isn't supposed to still be in charge of the Blues.
RELATED: CHELSEA LEGEND CALLS FOR AN END TO CLUB'S MANAGERIAL DEBACLE
Nevertheless, as reported by Sky Sports, the Italian was at Chelsea's training ground bright and early on Monday morning to oversee the first preseason training session. According to Sky in Italy, Chelsea still wants to bring in former Napoli boss, Maurizio Sarri to take Conte's job. However, Chelsea and Napoli are at a deadlock over how much compensation needs to be paid for the coach's services.
It gets even more confusing. We are now past the point of no return when it comes to this deal. Even though Conte remains in charge at Chelsea and Sarri at Napoli, the latter has already appointed Carlo Ancelotti to take the reigns for the next three years. It's effectively a managerial merry-go-round and the ride has already begun. Chelsea and Napoli need to reach a solution and they need to reach it soon as the new season rapidly approaches.
The placement of the three men mentioned above isn't all that Chelsea needs to worry about either. There are some players at the club who have stated they'll be leaving if Conte remains in charge. Willian is one of them. A Brazilian mainstay at Stamford Bridge who has already caught the attention of Barcelona. Decisions need to be made soon otherwise this coming season is in jeopardy before it has even begun.