Maurizio Sarri highlighted his concerns ahead of the summer transfer window and gave his thoughts on his debut season with Lazio.
The Biancocelesti secured a fifth place finish in Serie A this season following their 3-3 draw with Hellas Verona yesterday, finishing one point ahead of intercity rivals Roma. Despite some initial teething problems, the team began to show signs of a typical Sarri side in the second half of this campaign.
Speaking to DAZN after the draw with Hellas Verona, Sarri first touched on the various difficulties faced this season.
“It was a difficult path, full of difficulties. Then the desire of the guys gave us the chance to grow.”
The 63-year-old Italian coach expressed concern regarding the number of players who could leave over the next few months.
“Let’s see how the situation will be next year, because the risk of losing some players is there, we have many with expiring contracts. We have many players in demand on the market. The risk of doing a new ‘year zero’ is there.”
One player that Sarri is keen to retain in particular is Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who has heavily been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Juventus over the last few months.
“We have to talk to the club about the future. I can make a contribution by saying what I think from a technical point of view. I would be very happy to start again with Sergej.”
Finally, Sarri reflected on his debut season with Lazio as a whole.
“I’m happy that at a certain point in the season the squad cemented itself. At a certain point I saw the squad’s desire to exchange footballing beliefs. From a tactical point of view, this defensive fragility is something to be solved.”
Sarri’s Lazio scored 77 goals in Serie A this season, the second most out of all teams; only Inter posts better numbers, having netted 81 times heading into their final match of the season against Sampdoria.
#Lazio, #Sarri parla della stagione e del mercato https://t.co/COmoq5OSHq
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) May 21, 2022
In Sarri we trust!