Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Vaishali Bhardwaj

Chelsea confirm Maurizio Sarri departure after agreeing £10m compensation deal with Juventus

Chelsea have confirmed that coach Maurizio Sarri has left the club.

The Italian will take charge of Serie A champions Juventus after signing a three-year contract.

The deal was finalised late on Thursday evening after Juventus agreed a compensation package with Chelsea worth up to £10m.

Chelsea legend Frank Lampard is the front-runner to take over from the Italian at Stamford Bridge.

It marks the end of Sarri's short time in England, with the 60-year-old departing just 12 months after his arrival from Napoli in the summer of 2018.

His reign at Stamford Bridge started brightly as the Blues went on an 18-game unbeaten run in all competitions, ended only by a 3-1 loss to London rivals Tottenham at Wembley in late November.

The defeat kick-started an inconsistent set of results, particularly on the road, where Chelsea not only lost 4-0 away to Bournemouth in January but also suffered their heaviest defeat in any competition since 1991 were thrashed 6-0 away at Manchester City a few weeks later.

Sarri then had to endure the embarrassment of seeing Kepa Arrizabalaga challenge his authority when the goalkeeper refused to be substituted during Chelsea's League Cup final loss on penalties to City.

However, the Italian led Chelsea to Europa League glory and secured a Champions League spot to ease fans' frustrations over the style of football and an initial reluctance to use academy graduates.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.