Sarri Claims Lazio Only Signed One ‘Ready’ Player, Expects Himself to Stay at the Club

Lazio manager Maurizio Sarri looked back on the club’s January transfer campaign, noting that most of the new arrivals are too green.

Maurizio Sarri Speaks Frankly on Lazio January Signings

The Tuscan head coach hadn’t held a pre-match press conference in a while, but he decided to make an exception for Sunday’s big Serie A showdown against Juventus. Before travelling to Turin on Saturday afternoon, the 67-year-old spoke to the journalists (via Il Messaggero), who asked him to comment on the club’s winter transfer window.

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Lazio parted ways with four players in Taty Castellanos, Matteo Guendouzi, Christos Mandas and Matias Vecino. On the other hand, they signed Petar Ratkov, Kenneth Taylor, Edoardo Motta, Daniel Maldini, and Adrian Przyborek. However, Sarri argues that the Dutch midfielder is the only one who’s ‘ready’ for Lazio.

You know very well how I feel: the previous squad was more ready, this one is made up of young players who need to grow. The only one who is ready, even though he still has to adapt, is Taylor. His integration will be quicker, the others have longer paths.

Maldini needs to go through a development path. He’s played as a winger, second striker and attacking midfielder. He’s a player with quality, but he’s only shown it in flashes. The Polish lad (Pzryborek) is technically good, but I don’t know if he can become a midfielder — he’d need a long process. Perhaps he could play wide with a shorter path.

Sarri Opens Up on Lazio Future

Although his strained relationship with Lazio president Claudio Lotito has become public knowledge, Sarri proclaimed he’s more likely to remain at the club beyond the current campaign.

I have a contract in place, and unless something sensational happens we’ll move forward together. But I’m like the fans: I’d like not so much to win, but to dream. At the moment we can’t do that. For a year now we’ve had to deal with many difficulties. People can say we’re not very good, but not that we haven’t handled every situation as well as possible.

I’m not obsessed with winning, but I am obsessed with dreaming. I want the mind to have that open space. We’ll see at the end of the season what the conditions are. Right now the goal is to help the new arrivals grow.

Sarri Urges Lazio Hierarchy & Fanbase to Set Aside Their Differences

Sarri was also asked to comment on the statements made by Lazio sporting director Angelo Fabiani on Friday. Nevertheless, Sarri preferred to adopt a diplomatic tone, simply emphasising the importance of a reconciliation between the hierarchy and the fanbase to avoid playing in an empty stadium.

Having the good fortune not to read or listen to anything, I live with a fair amount of calm. When I raise an eyebrow it’s because of real issues. At the end of transfer windows, many people are unhappy. At the start of the season, I was told the market would be closed, and from then on, I tried to find solutions.

I don’t think about controversies, but the situation with the fans is heavy, because playing at home with 4,000 people is difficult. The hope is that the rift can be healed, because we need them.

On top of that, they’ve suffered this away-fan ban, a collective punishment that’s inconceivable. 95% fans did nothing and can’t go and watch Lazio — it’s a failure of the institutions that can’t maintain public order. For me, it’s unconstitutional.

Sarri on Juventus & Mattia Zaccagni

The former Napoli manager expects a difficult match against an in-form Juventus, as he insists the Bianconeri’s 0-3 Coppa Italia defeat against Atalanta doesn’t reflect their true level.

Out of great necessity. Juventus, with the intensity they’ve shown over the last 20 days, are very difficult to face. They’re coming off a defeat in Bergamo that can be debated, where every episode went against them.

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Finally, Sarri provided some positive updates on Mattia Zaccagni, who could return to action sooner than expected.

I think Mattia could return sooner than the initial diagnosis suggested, but we’ll see.