Maurizio Sarri and his legal representatives have been left to explore ways to extricate him from the final two years of his Napoli contract as the Italian seeks to end the delay to his prospective appointment at Chelsea.

The Premier League club have held talks with Sarri, who was replaced by Carlo Ancelotti at Napoli this month, despite Antonio Conte, who expects to be sacked, being in situ. Discussions over a two-year deal with an option for a third season are understood to have progressed well, though Chelsea made it clear they would not meet the £7m release clause in Sarri’s contract, which was not terminated when Napoli appointed his successor.

That clause expires at midnight on Thursday but, once that deadline passes, the fee to secure Sarri will have to be determined via negotiation. With relations between the Napoli owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, and Sarri so fractured, the 59-year-old manager has been left in limbo. Napoli are aggressively seeking hefty compensation and his potential new club are far from inclined to pay.

In an attempt to shift the impasse Sarri’s lawyers are understood to be scrutinising whether there is a case for constructive dismissal against Napoli and could pursue the issue with Fifa. Chelsea are apparently willing to let them explore that possibility before taking any further action. Conte, meanwhile, has also been left in the dark as to his own future but, if sacked, would be due around £9m in compensation of his own to cover the final year of his contract, if he does not find a new position job in the meantime. His two-year tenure saw the club claim the Premier League title and FA Cup during his two-year tenure only for relations with the hierarchy to become strained over disagreements on transfer policy.

Chelsea’s recruitment department, overseen by the director Marina Granovskaia, continue to put in place plans for new players signings which would be green-lighted by the new head coach. There is an interest in Manchester United’s Anthony Martial and Jean Seri at Nice, while and Robert Lewandowski’s apparent desire to leave Bayern Munich has been noted with interest.

Just as pressing for the club, however, are the futures of the likes of players such as Thibaut Courtois, who is entering the final 12 months of his contract, and Eden Hazard, together with the record signing, Álvaro Morata on Thursday.