Maurizio Sarri’s move to Juventus has stalled with Chelsea demanding the Serie A champions pay the Italian’s £5.3m release clause, Sky in Italy understands.
The 60-year-old had been expecting to be released by Chelsea ahead of a return to his homeland, having recently admitted in an interview to Vanity Fair that “the call of home is strong”.
Sarri told the Chelsea hierarchy of his wish to leave soon after last Wednesday’s Europa League final in Baku, where they beat Arsenal to 4-1.
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Chelsea also secured a return to the Champions League under Sarri thanks to a third-place finish in the Premier League.
But Sarri was criticised by a certain section of the Chelsea support throughout his debut season for his style of play, which was labelled as “Sarriball” during his much-hailed spell at Napoli.
Sarri won the Europa League last week – his first major trophy as a manager
Juventus have been searching for a replacement for Massimiliano Allegri, who departed the club in May after winning his fifth successive Serie A title.
Meanwhile, Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici revealed a discussion would be held over whether to re-sign midfielder Paul Pogba from Manchester United once a manager was in place at the club.
Speaking at a Football Leader 2019 event on Tuesday, he said: “As far as the market is concerned, we await the name of the coach.
“We will make the necessary assessments after announcing it. Pogba? The same, we’ll speak with the new coach.”