Chelsea hijack Jorginho deal as Conte faces sack

Chelsea could complete a double raze of Napoli with the signing of Jorginho and Maurizio Sarri who appear to be heading to the Stamford Bridge, Goal understands.

The maverick tactician has been tracked by the  Blues for weeks now, and it appears Antonio Conte could leave before the weekend as the English League season is less than a month from the opening matchday.

Manchester City had appeared a likely destination for the Brazilian born midfielder after Napoli president confirmed that he has accepted an offer for the player from the English champions.

But the latest reports have it that Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has apologized to Manchester City for the delay in completing a move for the midfielder.

However, City has not been able to make any concrete bid substantial and the midfielder could instead be heading to London with Chelsea lined up as a possible destination.

Chelsea are believed to be prepared to pay a combined fee in the region of   $68m plus $8.2m in add ons for Jorginho and Sarri who remains the Blues' number one candidate to replace embattled coach Antonio Conte who could leave the club before next week.

Sarri has been replaced at Napoli by Carlo Ancelotti, but talks are still ongoing over a deal for him to take over from Antonio Conte as manager at Stamford Bridge.

De Laurentiis, though, says that where Jorginho ends up playing next season is a separate matter to Sarri as he waits for the 26-year-old to make a decision on his future.

"We said to ourselves if Jorginho has any requests, we'll take them into account,” said De Laurentiis at a press conference to present Ancelotti as Napoli’s new coach

“I accepted Manchester City’s offer 15 days ago, but I have to apologise to them.

“I can understand if the player would prefer to live in London rather than in Manchester, and if Chelsea pay him more.

“Jorginho to Chelsea is not tied to Sarri.”

But De Laurentiis has suggested that talks are now close to bearing fruit regarding an agreement for Sarri to be appointed by Chelsea, a move that would spell an end to Conte's two-season sojourn in the Blues dugout.