Chelsea finally hope to resolve their managerial situation in advance of the return of their non-World Cup players for pre-season training at the beginning of next week, with Maurizio Sarri set to replace Antonio Conte.

The club has been in a state of flux since the end of the season, with Conte expecting to be sacked and Sarri teed up as a replacement, only for talks over compensation to delay the process. There is now an acceptance at Chelsea that the process has to gather pace, with those first-team squad members not involved in Russia having been told to report back to Cobham on 9 July.

The playing staff have been in the dark over the managerial situation and, until last week, had been unaware as to when they should return. Their first friendly is against Perth Glory in Australia on 23 July and Conte, as a precaution, had drawn up a pre-season programme should he remain in charge. However, the expectation is Sarri will be in situ by the time the players report back, with the remainder of the summer likely to prove hectic.

The record signing, Álvaro Morata, is expected to hold talks with the club’s hierarchy to determine his future after a disappointing first season in English football. The Spaniard posted a message on Instagram on Friday suggesting he wants to make a more favourable impression second time round – “Very exciting to start again. The past was hard but that is only one more reason to begin fighting again” – but Chelsea will assess his state of mind first-hand. If a suitable bid is lodged, the £58m signing could move on.

Chelsea are making progress on potential incoming transfers, with sources in Italy suggesting Conte has had no input over potential targets. Talks are ongoing with CSKA Moscow over Aleksandr Golovin, who would cost around £27m, but confirmation of arrivals is likely only after the World Cup. There is interest, too, in the 23-year-old Juventus defender Daniele Rugani, and Alisson Becker at Roma has been mooted as a potential replacement for Thibaut Courtois if the latter moves. Sarri would be content to welcome that trio.

There has been a rejig in the coaching setup at Cobham, with Andy Myers replacing Jody Morris as under-18s manager and Chris Jones, a fitness coach at the club for 12 years, having joined Morris and Frank Lampard at Derby County as head of performance. He will split his time between the clubs until the start of the season before leaving Chelsea.

Negotiations have been ongoing between intermediaries seeking to secure Sarri’s release from his contract at Napoli – who have replaced him with Carlo Ancelotti – with Chelsea then to address Conte’s compensation. The Italian has 12 months to run on his £9m-a-year contract and, having made clear his frustrations last summer in the wake of his team’s title success, he has kept his counsel as he waits to be informed whether he will go into a third season in charge.