Antonio Conte and his staff have been sacked by Chelsea FC, paving the way for Maurizio Sarri’s arrival.
The former Italy national coach has essentially been a lame duck at Stamford Bridge since the end of last season, but the Blues couldn’t agree a compensation deal with Napoli for Sarri.
The Blues have moved to dismiss Conte after just two years at the club after they missed out on Champions League qualification last term with a disappointing fifth-place finish in the Premier League.
The writing has been on the wall for some time with Chelsea openly on the lookout for a new boss ever since with a number of high-profile names considered.
Conte had refused to walk away unless the final year of his three-year contract was paid up in full and even returned to take pre-season training which began on Monday.
But a compensation agreement was finally reached on Thursday with Sarri set to be announced as his replacement soon.
Sarri will be joined by former Blues striker and club legend Gianfranco Zola who is set to join as part of a new-look backroom team.
Conte had taken the Chelsea team on early morning on Thursday, and gave his players the afternoon off after it became clear that the two clubs had reached a final compensation agreement.
Antonio Conte won the English Premier League in 2017, and the FA Cup in 2018.