Maurizio Sarri is reportedly keen to sign a player at Lazio with parallel traits to Chelsea’s own Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
This is according to Il Messaggero, who claim Sarri is eager to land a midfielder built in the same mould as Loftus-Cheek.
The Italian manager certainly has a soft spot for the Stamford Bridge man.
During his tenure in charge of Chelsea, the current Lazio boss oversaw arguably Loftus-Cheek’s finest campaign in senior football.
He played 40 times across all competitions, scoring ten goals and providing five assists.
Only now – after an arduous injury process and a few loan spells – are we seeing the 2018/19 version of the former England international.
Rio Ferdinand described the 25-year-old as ‘magnificent’ for his performance against Brentford earlier this season.
Old friends
It seems Sarri wants a slice of the Loftus-Cheek pie, or alternatively a slightly different flavour of it.
During the summer transfer window, it was suggested that the veteran coach wanted to reunite with his former student in Serie A.
Nothing came about of the potential recoupling, but there is nothing to say Sarri won’t revisit the story again.
Failing to land Loftus-Cheek, the Lazio chief apparently wants an individual with similar qualities to the Cobham academy graduate.
This means finding someone blessed with great grace in possession, strength and speed, plus the ability to weave past opponents without hesitation.
A very specific skill set that very few central midfielders are fortunate enough to possess.
Tottenham Hotspurs’ Tanguy Ndombele springs to mind, as does Manchester United’s Paul Pogba.
Pogba is set to become a free agent next year, so perhaps Sarri can set his sights on the Frenchman instead.
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