Former AC Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi says Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri is a loss for Italian football.

Like Sarri, a banker, he had no career as a professional player. Sacchi was a shoe salesman who had worked his way to Parma in Serie B when his stylish football caught the attention of Silvio Berlusconi when they beat his Milan in the Italian Cup.

"Maurizio is doing a great job at Chelsea," Sacchi told the Daily Mail. "He is a great loss and it is a pity for Italian football where most coaches rely heavily on their managerial skills, tactics and the qualities of the individual to remedy the collective poverty of ideas.

"This does not help to raise the level of the game which remains the same. So whoever has the best players wins."

Sacchi once hailed Sarri's Napoli as a 'masterpiece' and is sure he can produce something similar in London.

"I can see there is a will to follow him," he said, backing the Chelsea manager's faith in Jorginho as the deepest midfielder despite the theory that it reduces the influence of N'Golo Kante.

Sacchi hailed Sarri's Napoli as a 'masterpiece' and is sure he can produce similar in London

"Kante is a great player; extraordinary in his generosity, for the number of times he steals the ball but when it comes to game construction, he is not as bright as Jorginho.

"Jorginho's talent has increased with practice. He is a normal player or maybe even less than normal for a team based on individuality, physical strength or technical ability, but he is exceptional for a team with an idea of the game."