Chelsea have an agreement in principle with former Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri.
Sky Italia says Chelsea have a general agreement with Sarri via his representatives to succeed Antonio Conte if he leaves his role as manager.
However, Chelsea have no intention of paying Sarri's £7million (€8m) release clause, which expires on May 31.
This is in part because the Blues will need to pay £17.5m (€20m) in compensation if they decide to part ways with Conte, who lifted the FA Cup last week.
It is therefore expected that any club wanting to sign Sarri, who is still under contract, will have to negotiate with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis after next week's deadline.
Chelsea also have an interest in Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic, whose side won promotion to the Premier League on Saturday.