Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has called directly Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis in an attempt to close negotiations for Maurizio Sarri.

With preseason at Chelsea now underway, Abramovich has made a personal intervention to try and convince De Laurentiis to release Sarri from his contract.

Corriere dello Sport says the phone call was made on Sunday, with Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia to follow things up today with the aim to finalise terms.

Talks have been stepped up over the past 48 hours with the players now returning for preseason.

Antonio Conte is expected to be dismissed by Chelsea as soon as agreement over compensation for Sarri is settled with Napoli.