Napoli part ways with Carlo Ancelotti: A return to Premier League on the cards?

Just a few hours after progressing to the round of 16 in the Champions league. Napoli sacked Carlo Ancelotti via a post on social media which said, "Napoli has decided to revoke the role of technical manager of the first team from Mr. Carlo Ancelotti. The relations of friendship, esteem and mutual respect between the company, it’s president Aurelio de Laurentiis and Carlo Ancelotti remain intact.”

The Italian club thrashed Genk 4-0 at home with the help of a first-half hat-trick from Arkadiusz Milik and a 75th-minute penalty by Dries Mertens. This phenomenal performance ended Napoli's disappointing run of nine games without a victory in all competitions. Ex-Milan boss, Gennaro Gattuso is now being lined up as the next Napoli boss, as per rumors.

Moments after the win against Genk, the former Chelsea and Real Madrid gaffer was asked about his future. Ancelotti responded by saying he is not looking to resign from the post, but will definitely talk with the club president. However, the 60-year-old has already been linked to the Premier League, with vacant Arsenal and Everton managerial spots, as his sacking was already being predicted by a lot of clubs.

The three-time Champions League winner as a coach has been sacked by his two former clubs in the past (Bayern Munich and Real Madrid). The ex-Napoli boss also has a Premier League title to his name having coached Chelsea in the 2009-10 season.

Ancelotti had a deep knowledge of his team’s performance in the league, with the performance in the UCL not being a major concern as they were a totally different team, confident and solid. Napoli finished second in the Serie A last season, by a big margin of 11 points behind the eventual champions, Juventus.

Currently, with a very poor run of performances, Napoli stand seventh in the league, winning just five out of their last 15 matches. After the sacking of the experienced Italian, Chelsea’s current boss Frank Lampard, backed Ancelotti to bounce back at the top level. Lampard said, "I have huge respect for him, I am very sorry for him.” His reaction came after Chelsea’s win over Lille.