Claudio Ranieri is on the verge of filling the vacant manager's post at Stamford Bridge. The club held lengthy talks with the Italian this afternoon and he could be appointed before Sunday's match against Leicester.
Unconfirmed reports claim that Ranieri has agreed a three-year deal worth between £1-1.5m a year. However Chelsea are refusing to comment on the speculation.
Ranieri is reported to have been approached by Chelsea last Monday night, even before Vialli was sacked, and bookmakers William Hill stopped taking bets on him in mid-morning after a flood of wagers.
Chelsea managing director Colin Hutchinson today confirmed that talks have been taking place with Ranieri. He told the Evening Standard: "Just as we have lists of players who we might want in the future, we also have a list of top coaches and Ranieri was on that list."
"He has a very good reputation in football and hopefully the talks will go well. We do have a long list of applicants for the job. That reflects the progress we have made at the club and the status we now have in the game. "
The Italian, who is currently out of work but has previously worked with Gianfranco Zola at Napoli and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at Atletico, is likely to have been given positive recommendations by both players.
However, perhaps even more tellingly, he also greatly impressed Hutchinson two years ago as Valencia beat Barcelona three times in a week. Hutchinson revealed: "I watched all three games on satellite television. Two were in the Spanish Cup and one in the league.
"I kept thinking that Louis van Gaal at Barcelona would come up with something different against Valencia but Claudio Ranieri got the better of him on each occasion.
"I spent three hours with him before the Uefa Cup game against St Gallen talking about football. I wanted to know about his philosophy on the game and his ideas."
Although Chelsea have not made any announcement, Ranieri, 48, seems the clear favourite and the Italian, who is not believed to be fluent in English, today told the Gazzetta della Sport newspaper: "I was flattered by the call from Chelsea. If there are roses, they will bloom. I have a meeting with those in charge. If the situation develops then we will take it from there."
