By Mark Ogden
Napoli have stepped up their efforts to lure Rafael Benítez by publicly claiming to have agreed a deal with the Spaniard.
Benitez’s spell in temporary charge of Chelsea will end after the club’s friendly against Manchester City in New York City.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis insisted Benítez would now work at Napoli, but it is understood the coach has not yet committed to the move.
Benítez is thought to want to assess other potential options, even holding out hope he might be a candidate to manage Paris St-Germain. But De Laurentiis claimed: “I’ve given myself a birthday gift, I’ve signed Benítez.
“I’ll make it official in the next few days as Benítez needs to end things with Chelsea. He’ll have a two-year contract, no longer. We need to get to know each other first, then we’ll see.”
Benítez looks certain to be replaced at Stamford Bridge by Jose Mourinho, to whom Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech paid glowing tribute.
Cech said: “He [Mourinho] is a great manager and I think everybody remembers how successful we were with him as the manager. If he can reproduce that again, I think everything will be fantastic. The footprint he made in the whole of English football during his first spell here, that is what he about.
“Also the success he brought to our club. He was the manager who won the first title for the club in 55 years and I would say that a new era began during his time, so this is why I think it [his return] is important.
“Every manager might change slightly during the years because they gain more experience and work with different people and different teams.
“So he might come with a slightly different way than last time, let’s see.
“But it will be great to see him back and hopefully he can reproduce the success we had between 2004 and 2006.”
With Manchester United and Manchester City also experiencing managerial changes this summer, the top three from the past three seasons will all begin the new campaign at the dawn of a new era.
But Cech has warned that Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure from United will not damage the champions’ hopes of retaining the title.
“United is a well-organised club and Sir Alex left them in the best possible shape,” Cech said. “But the new manager, David Moyes, has a big challenge ahead of him to fill Ferguson’s boots. He has found a club that is perfectly organised, though, and everybody knows what to do, so it is only up to him.
“He can start working and impose his personality and characteristic into the team, but I don’t think it will change many things. It will still be Manchester United.
“I think the top clubs will always be the top clubs, no matter who the managers are. They will still attract the top players and be the top clubs.
“We have a good base from which to start a new season and I think it can be a successful one.”
