Reports: Juventus ‘making progress’ with Maurizio Sarri

When it comes to who Juventus’ next head coach will be, the Italian media is working itself into quite the race to out-do each other while also attempting to the connect the dots. There’s been the race to try and be the ones who get it right, but also the possibility of building off something that has been said and then go from there.

Say, for example, Max Allegri saying that he believes the man who will succeed him on the sidelines will be an Italian fella.

Enter, as a result, Simone Inzaghi and Maurizio Sarri, who just so happen to be Italians.

While some Italian outlets are pretty certain that Inzaghi’s candidacy is a solid one and, quite possibly is the leading name in the clubhouse for RIGHT NOW, two well-known journalists on the peninsula — Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio and SportItalia’s Alfredo Pedulla — along with the Corriere dello Sport are saying that Sarri is Juve’s top choice and they’re talking to the “current” Chelsea manager about taking over for Allegri.

You don’t need to know all that much about speaking Italian to know what that headline or the subhead of “IL GRANDE FAVORITO” translate to in English.

So there’s that gem from the CDS. But, outside of saying that Fabio Paratici has already met with Inzaghi last week in Piacenza during a “discrete meeting far away from anyone’s eyes,” here’s the biggest takeaway from Di Marzio’s reporting published on Monday night:

The Chelsea manager is under contract until 2021, but the club have already decided to change coaches and hire Lampard. Claudio Lotito, meanwhile, is stubborn and will be harder to convince.

So, that’s basically what we’ve been thinking will happen when it comes to Chelsea’s managerial position (as well as Lotito’s general stubbornness.)

That brings us to what Pedulla, known Sarri insider and the man who has been at the forefront of a lot of Chelsea’s Italian-flavored dealings the last 12 months. Pedulla was also reporting on the Juventus-Sarri front Monday night, saying the two sides have been “moving forward” in talks despite the fact that the current Chelsea boss is preparing his side for the Europa League final against city rival Arsenal next Wednesday.

And just in case you’re wondering if Paratici has comment on the managerial front since the original Allegri decision was handed down last Friday, he did so Monday night: “We are taking our time in selecting the new coach. We need patience, we are evaluating the right candidates and have clear ideas.”

So, “clear ideas” are good. Same goes for patience.