Chelsea are interested in Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic according to Spanish site Sport and he could be the man to kickstart ‘Sarriball’ at Stamford Bridge.

Maurizio Sarri is under pressure after a terrible month for Chelsea culminating in their 6-0 battering at the hands of Manchester City on Sunday. The system he implemented so successfully at Napoli over the last few years just hasn’t got through to the Blues' squad.

Over on the continent, there are reports from Gazzetta dello Sport via Calciomercato that Rakitic is annoyed with the fact his club have signed Frenkie De Jong from Ajax who plays in the same role as the Croatian. As a result, he could reportedly push for a move away from the Nou Camp and that would give Chelsea the ideal opportunity to snatch up one of the world’s best playmakers.

There is the small issue of an apparent £109m release clause but a transfer request could see Rakitic make his way to Stamford Bridge in a move that could save Sarri his job. The midfielder has made 157 appearances for Barcelona between now and 2014, and his time there has made him one of the most tactically aware and technically gifted midfielders in world football.

The issue at Chelsea is that it takes times for a philosophy like Sarri’s to be embedded, just look at what happened at Man City in Pep Guardiola’s first season compared to his second. Sadly, football managers are rarely given the time like Guardiola was, and patience certainly hasn't been a word associated with Roman Abramovich since he took over.

Sarri must bring in players who already have the fast, intricate system drilled into their heads and then the knowledge will trickle down to the other players. Of course, it’s down to the manager to improve the players, but influence from other players is key to getting a whole team on the same wavelength.

If Rakitic arrives at Chelsea in the summer, and Sarri still has his job, he would orchestrate play in midfield and take the pressure off his teammates when they're pressed as they were by City at the weekend. His press-splitting passes can open up defences and show Chelsea just what ‘Sarriball’ really is.

Unless you watched Napoli over the last few seasons nobody has really seen Chelsea play in Sarri’s style, in fact, the players play in his style less now than they did at the start of the season. Rakitic can reverse this trend if Chelsea stick by their manager and back him in the transfer window to buy players who would suit his system.