“Like I’m an idiot” – Manager appears to regret sale to West Ham

In the winter transfer window, SportWitness closely followed Taty Castellanos’ move to West Ham from Lazio.

The striker’s sale went through after the Italian side faced major financial trouble. They had a transfer ban in the summer and had to sell players to make ends meet in January.

The Argentine’s sale to West Ham was expected to make room for some new signings. Lazio signed Daniel Maldini and also roped in Petar Ratkov from RB Salzburg.

Manager Maurizio Sarri had initially expressed confusion about the deal and the sentiment hasn’t changed in Rome.

Regret over sale to West Ham

Corriere dello Sport today look at Lazio’s attacking struggles, as they were held to a 0-0 draw at the weekend.

Sarri had hoped that the transfer window would provide the team with a much-needed turnaround. There was also belief that if the right signings were made, he wouldn’t regret Castellanos’ sale to West Ham.

That hasn’t happened, as the Italian was quite disappointed after the draw against Cagliari.

He said: “We don’t do much up front. Maldini will always be an atypical striker. He has certain characteristics. He doesn’t have great attacks in space or in the six-yard box, and he plays too far from the goal.”

Sarri was also asked about Ratkov and appeared to take offence.

“It seems like I’m an idiot because I don’t play Ratkov in place of Maldini. He’s behind like all the 22-year-olds who come from another country, speak another language, have played another style of football and are catapulted into a new reality.”

Castellanos settling in London

On the contrary, Castellanos seems to be fitting in quite well at West Ham.

He already has two goals in all competitions, having started every Premier League since joining. Nuno Espirito Santo’s transition-based system suits him, as the Argentine can link-up and do more than just scoring goals.

Under Sarri, he had four goals and eight assists and had shown more than Maldini and Ratkov have. He is also more of a proper number nine than Maldini, who is better playing deeper.

So it won’t be a surprise if the Italian faces further frustration and we hear more of his rants amidst a chaotic situation at Lazio.