Rome: Juventus have reached an agreement in principle with Chelsea over a deal for manager Maurizio Sarri to join the Italian champions, Sky Italia and the BBC have reported.
There has been no official confirmation of the agreement from either club but Sarri, who won the Europa League with Chelsea, is expected to sign a three-year contract, Sky reported.
Juve manager Massimiliano Allegri left the Turin club at the end of the season but Premier League Chelsea wanted compensation for releasing Sarri to cover the final year of his contract.
According to Sky and the BBC, the clubs agreed a £5 million (Dh23 million) compensation settlement late on Thursday and Sarri could be unveiled as Juve coach as early as Friday.
Sarri arrived from Napoli in July 2018 and led Chelsea to third place in the league to secure a Champions League spot and then won the Europa League by beating Arsenal 4-1 in Baku.
Meanwhile, former Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has said he needs to recharge his batteries and will take a year off from football before returning to management.
The 51-year-old led Juventus to five consecutive Serie A titles, four Coppa Italias and two Champions League runner-up finishes in his five years in charge, but parted ways with the club at the end of the season.
“I’m going to take a year off to recharge the batteries and take my personal life back in hand,” the BBC quoted Allegri as saying at an event in Milan. “The last 16 years have felt like being in a spin-dryer.”
Allegri began his managerial career in 2004 in Italy’s fourth division and also managed AC Milan, who he led to the Serie A title in 2011, before joining Juventus in 2014.
