Chelsea have been banned by FIFA from signing players for the next two transfer windows. This comes just weeks after they signed Christian Pulisic from Borrusia Dortmund and loaned him back to Germany until summer.
The sunny side of this punishment is that this wouldn’t affect the side’s ability to release players or bring back loan players. With 41 players currently loaned outside Stamford, Sarri should be looking to get crafty in his lineup.
The Blues could potentially appeal against the ban but it would take time to get it through, and that isn’t a luxury which Sarri can afford right now, judging by the way things have been in west London since Roman Abramovich took control of the club in June 2003.
Chelsea’s 6-0 loss to Manchester City and their 2-0 FA Cup defeat against Manchester United were enough to get the critics pointing their fingers at ‘Sarriball’.
Sarri was brought to Chelsea in place of Antonio Conte in the summer, and the Italian immediately employed a fast, possession-based style of football.
Since taking charge at Stamford Bridge, the 60-year-old has overseen massive changes in west London, and many of them have yielded little success to date.
After the defeat to City in Carabao Cup final yesterday, Sarri now has even more problems.
His primary focus should now be on rallying his players to bounce back in time for their clash with Tottenham on Wednesday night.
A top four finish will be the minimum requirement for Sarri at Chelsea, and as things stand, that is looking a long, long way away.
