CARLO ANCELOTTI is fighting for his Napoli future but could make a quick return with Arsenal if sacked by the Italian club.
Multiple reports have named the veteran coach as on the Gunners’ radar to take over from Unai Emery.
Ancelotti could be out of a job by the middle of next week if results don’t improveCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Brendan Rodgers and Mikel Arteta are also thought to be high on Arsenal’s agenda while Freddie Ljungberg continues his interim spell.
But both of those candidates are in jobs, Rodgers in particular enjoying a high-flying term in charge of Leicester.
Ancelotti may soon find himself available for free if he cannot turn around the crisis at Napoli.
The weekend’s defeat at Bologna dropped them eight points off the Champions League places as their winless run extended to eight games.
Club president Aurelio De Laurentiis is now set to give Ancelotti just two games to find a solution, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Udinese welcome the Partenopei on Saturday after the coach takes his side on a ‘ritiro’ training retreat and the following Wednesday sees Genk come to town for a crunch Champions League clash.
Qualification for the next round is seen as essential given the fact only a point is needed against the lowly Belgians in Naples.
Also vital is the £60million of revenue estimated to be in the balance with the team’s qualification for next year’s competition.
De Laurentiis is not willing to play any more games with such an amount having gone through a tumultuous time of late, fining each of his stars a significant amount after they abandoned his enforced training camp.
And that will lead to what is being described as an inevitable squad clear out in the summer, focusing on aging stars such as Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Jose Callejon and maybe even Kalidou Koulibaly.
Ancelotti, also linked to Paris Saint-Germain in the French press this week, may or may not be in charge then and Gennaro Gattuso is being lined up to replace him if necessary.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
