Maurizio Sarri was perhaps not the most popular person at Stamford Bridge during his time as Chelsea manager, but he did a lot for the club.
The Italian guided Chelsea to third place in the Premier League in his only season in west London, while he also inspired the Blues to a famous 4-1 win against London rivals Arsenal in the Europa League final.
Sarri is trying to keep hold of Mario Gila, who is reportedly attracting interest from Chelsea as they look to bolster their defence this summer.
However, he could still be about to do his old club a huge favour by taking one of their unwanted players off their hands.
Lazio monitoring Ben Chilwell
There are several assets Chelsea want to offload when the transfer window opens again, including Ben Chilwell.
The defender was not part of Enzo Maresca‘s plans last season, joining Crystal Palace on loan in February, and there seems to be no way back for him.
Chilwell is on huge wages, so the Blues will be keen to get rid of the left-back, and Sarri could be about to give them an opportunity to.
According to Il Messaggero, Lazio have made bringing in a full-back a priority and are monitoring Chilwell.
Chilwell never got to play under Sarri, with the Lazio boss departing Chelsea one year before the Englishman’s arrival. However, that could be about to change.
It is thought that Chilwell is currently on a £200,000-a-week contract in west London, making him one of the highest-paid players at the club. As well as the 28-year-old, Chelsea are also trying to ditch Joao Felix despite having only signed the forward last summer.
One of Chelsea’s London rivals also want Chilwell
Chilwell could yet have the chance to remain in London, with one of Chelsea’s local rivals also said to be keen on the England international.
According to journalist Simon Phillips, Brentford have looked at signing Chilwell, though that was before Thomas Frank’s move to Tottenham Hotspur.
