Report: Chelsea agrees £57M deal with Napoli to sign Jorginho, appoint Sarri

For several weeks, it has appeared Napoli midfielder Jorginho has been on the cusp of a move to Manchester City.

Related: Manchester City, Napoli agree to initial £43M fee for Jorginho

However, the Brazil-born Italy international could instead be about to seal a surprise move to Chelsea, reports the Guardian's Dominic Fifield.

The Blues are thought to have offered Napoli around £57.5 million in a deal that would see them sign the 26-year-old and finally complete the appointment of Maurizio Sarri.

The west London side - managed, for now, by Antonio Conte - has been trying to settle upon an agreeable compensation package for Sarri for weeks, despite the ex-Partenopei manager already having been replaced in Naples by Carlo Ancelotti.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis confirmed the deal for Sarri is "in the home stretch." That will be a huge relief for Chelsea fans, who have seen their team return for preseason training with dead man walking Conte still at the helm.

"I have to apologise to City," said De Laurentiis of Jorginho's potential move to Stamford Bridge. "I closed the negotiations with them two weeks ago, solving various issues, but if the player would rather live in London than Manchester, I can understand it. If Chelsea are paying him even more, I can understand that too."

However, De Laurentiis emphasised the Jorginho deal "is not dependent" upon Sarri joining Chelsea.

Reports in Italy have suggested the £57.5-million outlay would consist of a fee of just over £50 million for Jorginho and a further £7.5 million to finally secure Sarri's services.