Fulham are hoping to take advantage of Chelsea’s managerial situation to sign Nice midfielder Jean Seri, claims Sky Sports.
Chelsea have been heavily linked with a move for the Ligue 1 midfielder but will not step up their pursuit until they resolve their managerial position.
Antonio Conte is technically still Chelsea manager but will be sacked and replaced with Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri in the coming days.
This saga has dragged out since the end of last season and now Fulham are hoping to steal a march over their west London rivals for Seri’s signature.
Seri came close to joining Barcelona 12 months ago and it would be a huge coup if the newly-promoted Premier League side can pull off a deal for the 26-year-old.
The Ivory Coast international has entered the final 12 months of his current Nice deal and his £35m release clause expires on July 15.
Only Marco Verratti (92.7) averaged more passes per Ligue 1 game than Seri (86.3) last season.
I would not change coaches this late in the summer at Chelsea. Your claim Sarri will be hired this late makes no sense to me. Chelsea' preseason training starts on Monday. Conte plays a defense-serving formation and players were acquired to fill it. Sarri plays an attack-oriented formation and players have not been acquired to fill one. Arsenal hired Emery very quickly, some time ago now, and a few players have been added for him already. That is how things are done sensibly.