- One player thinks he will go if Chelsea don't win one of their next two matches
- Roman Abramovich has not been to a game this season and is on the periphery
- There are frustrations at how star man N'Golo Kante has been used by Sarri
- Eden Hazard looks poised to leave this summer as problems continue to mount
After all but surrendering the title to in the spring of 2017, Maurizio Sarri's outlook for his Napoli future was not promising. 'Coaches are like fish,' he mused. 'After a while, they start to stink.'
The use-by date on Chelsea managers is always short, but in the case of Sarri matters have deteriorated at an alarming rate.
The club's chairman, Bruce Buck, sat in on his pre-match press conference this week in Malmo, then Buck took the peculiar step of going pitchside on Thursday evening to get a close view of Chelsea's warm-up drills.
The players' senses are tingling. One confided in his adviser this week that he expected Sarri to be sacked if the club fail to win at least one of their next two games — against Manchester United in the FA Cup, and Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.
Ultimately, the decision will not fall to Buck. Director Marina Granovskaia runs the show and she will make recommendations to owner Roman Abramovich, if he does not beat her to it.
Sarri admits he has not heard from Chelsea's Russian owner in the past three weeks, and the growing impression is that of a club whose troubles extend beyond the dugout.
The financial news website Bloomberg has spoken of the 'last days of Londongrad'. Abramovich has not attended a Chelsea match this season and has not been seen in London since his visa renewal application was denied last year
Dailymail