Napoli president hits out at 'highly-strung' Maurizio Sarri | OneFootball

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has warned Chelsea that Maurizio Sarri can be “timid” when it comes to making transfer decisions.

The Blues have been linked with the likes of Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic and Real Madrid’s Isco heading into the January transfer window as they look to strengthen their squad and push for the Premier League title in the second half of the season.

But after working with him for three years in Naples, De Laurentiis has given an astonishing insight into the 59-year-old former banker’s mindset when it comes to these matters.

“Sarri seemed timid and I discovered he was so dissatisfied with his past [working in finance],” he told Corriere di Mezzogiorno.

“For a Communist to base his profession on the evils of money brought him to suffer from a syndrome of dissatisfaction.

“I found Sarri to be very highly-strung. His wife couldn’t even come to the stadium.

“I used to say to Sarri, who shall we buy? He’d reply that he didn’t want to know anything about it.”

The Partonopei played some excellent football during Sarri’s tenure and mounted a strong challenge for the Serie A title last season, before ultimately falling away in the final weeks of the season.

However, De Laurentiis believes the former manager’s departure was a good thing for the club.

“I chose Sarri against everyone’s advice. At the time, the city was covered in banners protesting my decision,” he said.

“He had a way of making himself adored even by the most extreme fringes of the fanbase.

“He’s an individualist, someone who suffered in the lower leagues on pitches with no grass and the odd stone. He’d also suffer because he tended to be fired after six games.

“Then he had that run from Serie C to Serie A with Empoli and when we lost 4-2 against him, I thought he might be the right man for us.”