Nicolo Casale admitted that he’d ‘love to play for’ Maurizio Sarri amid links with a move to Lazio.
The Biancocelesti have been fans of the 24-year-old Italian centre back for months now, keen to sign him in January before being told to return in the summer. Lazio have done just that and the two clubs are now deep in negotiations, with the Roman club desperate to secure his signature.
Speaking to SportItalia (via LazioNews24), Casale first discussed his growth this year under Igor Tudor in Verona.
This year with coach Tudor we re-proposed on the pitch what we did in previous years. The way we play enhances the defenders because we play on the whole pitch and if you are good you follow the man all the time.
We had a great year where even the forwards helped us defenders because there were constant goals, teams attacked us little because they pressed well. This has been a culture in Verona for a few years now.
The Italian defender commented on the links to Lazio and his thoughts on the situation.
I’ve certainly received a lot of messages and read a lot of news. A few days ago I spoke to my agent and he told me not to read any news and that he’ll call me when things are concrete.
It’s nice to be approached by the big teams, I’m waiting for the call. I’m a Verona player, I grew up in Verona, I did my youth sector here, I returned here and so I can’t complain.
He touched on the idea of playing under Sarri in Rome.
Certainly Sarri is a great coach who takes care of the defensive phase and I would love to play for him. But I’m a Verona player and right now I have to think about that.
Finally, Casale discussed the surprise departure of Igor Tudor and his thoughts on new Hellas Verona coach Gabriele Cioffi.
I didn’t expect Tudor to leave, we met at the end of the season and he didn’t know yet, he had to talk to the president. He made that choice and we respect it.
I say thank you to him because he is a coach who has completed me, he has given me a lot and I wish him good luck hoping that he will find the best solution too.
I haven’t spoken to Cioffi yet, I saw the Verona official today or yesterday. I think he’ll contact the players in the next few days and I’ll get to know him.
The 24-year-old Casale made 36 Serie A appearances this season under Tudor, for a total of 2591 minutes. In that time, he provided two assists and impressed with his positive, progressive play.
