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           2019  McCarthy Calls on                                                                           Sarri Seeking To Leave Chelsea
                                                                                                     Maurizio Sarri has
           5th,                                                                                   told Chelsea he wants
           June  Players To Remember                                                              to leave the club this
                                                                                                  summer, according to
           |  Danish ‘Insults’                                                                    reports in Italy.
           EXAMINER  Before Euro Qualifier                                                        manager has been the
                                                                                                     Sarri’s future as
                                                                                                  subject of much dis-
                                                                                                  cussion during the end

           IRISH                                                                                  of a campaign in which
                                                                                                  Chelsea secured a return to the Champions League by finishing
                                                                                                  third in the Premier League and then won the Europa League.
                                                                                                     Sarri has been widely linked with Serie A champions
                                                                                                  Juventus, who are seeking a successor to Massimiliano Allegri.
                                                                                                     Reports in Italy said Sarri held talks with Chelsea director
                                                                                                  Marina Granovskaia on Friday and informed her that he want-
                                                                                                  ed to return to his homeland.
                                                                                                     Granovskaia, it is said, has promised to talk to club owner
                                                                                                  Roman Abramovich about his future.
                                                                                                     Sarri succeeded Antonio Conte as Chelsea manager last sum-
                                                                                                  mer after spending three years at Napoli.
                                                                                                     The 60-year-old enjoyed a tremendous start at Stamford
                                                                                                  Bridge as Chelsea went unbeaten in 18 games.
                                                                                                     But Sarri endured consistent criticism from a significant por-
                                                                                                  tion of the club’s supporters throughout the campaign and suf-
                                                                                                  fered heavy 4-0 and 6-0 defeats at Bournemouth and
                                                                                                  Manchester City.
                                                                                                     Chelsea, however, reached the Carabao Cup final, which
                                                                                                  they lost on penalties to Manchester City, before finishing the
                                                                                                  season strongly.
                                                                                                     Sarri claimed the first major trophy of his career when
                                                                                                  Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1 in Baku on Wednesday to win the
                   ick McCarthy has urged  guess you’d take umbrage at it  Richard  Keogh,  though,  Europa League final.
                   the Republic of Ireland  and want to do something  because he’s been great coming  After that game, Sarri said: “You know very well that I love
            Mto make Denmark pay        about it, if you could, in any  in training. He’s just been him-  the Premier League, the level of the competition, and I am
            for their insults as the sides pre-  positive way.       self, a real positive person  lucky because I am in Chelsea, one of the best teams in the best
            pare to meet for the fifth time in  “I don’t know what they  around the place.        championship in the world.
            18 months.                  said – what did they say?”     “Whether Eriksen is feeling   “So at the moment I am happy, but of course I want to know
              Ireland   run   out   in     When he was told about    it because he lost and they did-  if the club is happy, if we can improve.
            Copenhagen on Friday evening  Delaney’s comments and the  n’t play very well as a team,  “It’s normal I think; I have a discussion with the owner after
            having taken maximum points  suggestion that Ireland’s foot-  I’ve no idea. Or whether he  every season with every club.”
            from their opening Euro 2020  ball was agricultural, McCarthy  turns up and he wants to make  Chelsea have been linked with their former midfielder Frank
            qualifiers against Gibraltar and  replied: “Well, we are from a  amends for it, I haven’t got a  Lampard, now the manager of Sky Bet Championship club
            Georgia and leading Group D  farming country, aren’t we?”  clue.                      Derby, should Sarri leave Stamford Bridge. C
            as a result.                   Denmark’s 5-1 demolition    “I can’t affect any of those
              However, they will expect a  job at the Aviva Stadium came  feelings.”                        Hazard Leads Chelsea To Victory
            much sterner test at the Telia  courtesy largely of a superb  Ireland’s winning start to the         In Europa League Final
            Parken Stadium – where they  hat-trick  from   Christian  campaign  in  March   was      Eden Hazard bid a glorious farewell to Chelsea by netting a
            drew 0-0 in a World Cup play-  Eriksen, who is in line to play  achieved    without   brace as Maurizio Sarri’s side roared past Arsenal to seal Europa
            off showdown in November    against the Republic just six  Southampton striker Shane  League success in Azerbaijan.
            2017, prompting Danish mid-  days  after  suffering  the  Long, who had to withdraw      Unai Emery was looking to continue his love affair with this
            fielder Thomas Delaney to   heartache  of  Tottenham’s   from the squad with a groin  competition and end the Gunners’ 25-year wait for continental
            liken the task of trying to break  Champions League final defeat  injury, and he will be missing  success at the end of his maiden campaign in the dugout.
            Martin O’Neill’s side down to  by Liverpool in Madrid.   again after suffering a ham-    But Arsenal collapsed as a tepid first half made way for a
            “opening a can of baked beans  However, McCarthy admits  string problem in training, a  memorable second period at the sparsely-filled Baku Olympic
            with your bare hands”.      he cannot predict how that will  major disappointment after  Stadium, where Chelsea manager Sarri masterminded a 4-1 win
              Three days later, the Danes  affect the 27-year-old, nor how  ending the season with four  that brought his first major trophy.
            trounced Ireland 5-1 to make it  his players who were involved  goals in seven Premier League  Olivier Giroud impressively opened the scoring against his
            to Russia, although a 0-0   in the Sky Bet Championship  games for Southampton.       former club – his 11th goal in this season’s Europa League – but
            Nations League draw in Dublin  and League One play-off finals  But McCarthy said: “It’s a  this was Hazard’s night.
            in October last year saw    – Aston Villa’s Glenn Whelan  disappointment – I hope it     It appears a case of when rather than if he swaps Stamford
            Delaney     describe   the  and Conor Hourihane and      turns out not to be any sort of a  Bridge for Real Madrid and the Belgian magician was never like-
            Republic’s football as “primi-  Charlton’s Josh Cullen were  blow, of course because I’m  ly to go quietly.
            tive”.                      winners, while Derby skipper  hoping we’ve got other strikers  Hazard provided the assist for Pedro and soon got on the
              Asked if those barbs had  Richard Keogh finished on the  that can do the business for us.  scoresheet himself, coolly scoring from the spot before putting
            stuck in the minds of his play-  losing side – will respond.  “But certainly, it’s a huge  the game to bed by sweeping home after a stunning Alex Iwobi
            ers, McCarthy replied: “It     He said: “We’ll find out, and  blow for him as well having  strike briefly gave Arsenal hope.
            would with me. We are all dif-  whether playing in play-off  come in and recovered from
            ferent but if somebody men-  finals, winning them, has a pos-  injury from the last time and  Chelsea rained on the Gunners’ planned parade in some style
            tions it, it might just have a pos-  itive effect or losing them has a  then picking up an injury this  as owner Roman Abramovich got to enjoy a successful end to
            itive effect.               negative effect.             time, so I’m really disappointed  a topsy-turvy season and the Hazard – and perhaps also Sarri –
              “If someone insults you, I   “I wouldn’t see that in   for him.” C                     era. C
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