Maurizio Sarri believes he will be in charge of Chelsea next season and expects to have the club challenging for the Premier League title inside two years.
The Italian has seen his future at Stamford Bridge called into question during a debut campaign in England.
Goal has revealed that Roma are keeping a close eye on his situation and may be prepared to offer the former Napoli boss a route back to Serie A.
Sarri is not expecting to tread that path any time soon, though, as he is preparing to be back in west London for 2019-20.
He still has Chelsea in the hunt for a top-four finish this season, while also reaching the final of the Carabao Cup and semi-finals of the Europa League, and sees further progress being made under his guidance.
Sarri told Gazzetta dello Sport: “Will I stay here next season? As far as I'm concerned, yes.
“I want to stay, English football has unique rhythms and atmospheres.
“We deserved to beat Eintracht [after a 1-1 draw in the first leg of a Europa League semi-final]; they are a good team to face at a difficult time of the season.
“In England the game is played at very high levels, perhaps the highest there are today, all in a wonderful atmosphere and with the stadiums always full.”
Sarri added: “I am sure that in two years of work we will be closer to the leaders.
Getty Images“The Napoli before me ended at minus 24 points from Juventus. With me first at minus nine, then at minus five and finally at minus four.
“I only had three weeks to work in the summer. And 11-12 sessions for the defensive phase.”
‘Sarri-ball’ was initially embraced at Chelsea, with that philosophy having served Napoli well.
Questions have, however, been asked of the system since making a bright start to the season.
The likes of N’Golo Kante have been moved out of their favoured positions, while club talisman Eden Hazard has been rested and used as a ‘false nine’ at various stages.
It could be that the Belgian forward moves on this summer, amid links to La Liga giants Real Madrid, and Sarri is heading towards a two-window transfer ban that will prevent him from further bolstering his ranks.