Gianfranco Zola has given the clearest indication yet that he is on the verge of forming a new management partnership alongside Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea, but urged his former club to finalise it quickly.

Sarri agreed a deal in principle to take over at Stamford Bridge last month, but Chelsea have yet to dismiss Antonio Conte. The former Napoli coach has already lined up Zola to be his assistant and the pair are reportedly in Milan waiting for the go-ahead to fly to London to complete the deal.

But the former Chelsea legend says speed is of the essence. “There’s so much talk. There are many teams who would like a coach like Sarri. I think the parties are working on it, but I don’t know anything more,” he said. “We are talking about two coaches that I respect a lot: Antonio and Maurizio.

“I really wish that a quick solution that would be good for both parties is found. At the moment you need to have a clear situation as quickly as possible.”

Chelsea, meanwhile, are in advanced talks with Juventus defender Daniele Rugani and CSKA Moscow midfielder Aleksandr Golovin and have entered negotiations with Roma over their Brazil goalkeeper Alisson. Chelsea are prepared to offload Willian if someone meets their £70million asking price.