Chelsea have been given encouragement in their pursuit of top managerial target Maurizio Sarri after Napoli reduced their asking price for the Italian, claims The Daily Mirror.
Antonio Conte is still in charge of Chelsea and has no intentions of resigning, leaving the Premier League giants with a hefty compensation bill to pay if they sack the 48-year-old.
Sarri has been heavily linked with the Chelsea hot seat but the Blues have been unable to agree on a deal with their Italian counterparts, who were originally demanding in the region of £7m.
Napoli already have former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti lined up to replace Sarri and now the Serie A outfit have reduced their asking price for Sarri to £4.5m.
Both clubs want to get a deal over the line but neither is willing to bow the demands of the other, which has made for a drawn out and messy saga.
Sarri has built a reputation of being one of the best coaches in Europe during his three-year stint at Napoli, producing some of the continent’s finest football on a weekly basis.
Napoli set an all-time points record for the Serie A runner-up last season, finishing the campaign on 91 points and four adrift of winners Juventus.
During his time at Napoli, Sarri won an impressive 67.6% of his matches in charge of the Italian side.
