Sarri on the futures of Chelsea trio, injury news and his blunt verdicts on Kepa and Ampadu
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri spoke about a number of issues at a media conference ahead of the game against Bournemouth. Here’s what the Italian had to say.
On the latest injury news
“I don’t know exactly at the moment. Yesterday the players who played in the last match had only recovery training, so I have to speak to the doctor.
“But I think there’s nothing serious. David (Luiz) is okay, I think. He rested in the last match and the day before the last match he was okay, so it’s okay.”
On Callum Hudson-Odoi’s future
“As you know, I have not the power to (get players to) sign new contracts here. But on the pitch I am really very happy with him.
“The club told me that in this window he will remain with us for sure and very probably also in the next.
“I am really very happy with this. As I said, he is improving on the pitch and I think he will be the future of our club and the future of English football.
“I am not frustrated. As I said before, on the pitch he’s doing very well: very well in training, very well in matches. So I’m really very happy with him.
“I’m not happy with the situation, of course, but I know very well that every big team here in England has the same problem.
“It’s not easy to keep these young players. He is of course one of the best 18-year-old players in Europe, so it’s very difficult.
“But, as I said before, the club told me he is off the market for sure. And, probably, he will be off the market in July.”
On whether Hudson-Odoi is happy with the situation
“I don’t know. But I can say what I see on the pitch. On the pitch at the moment he’s fantastic.”
“I cannot do anything as you know very well. If I had the power to make him sign a new contract I could do everything. But in my condition, I cannot do anything.
“It’s impossible to promise him he will play every match because it depends on the situation, so I cannot do anything.”
On Gary Cahill’s future
“I don’t know what to answer because I don’t know the evolution of the situation of Gary. I don’t know. At the moment I have no news.”
On Danny Drinkwater
“At the moment he is with us. I told you my opinion about this player. He is a very good player but I think he is more suitable for playing with two midfielders.
“He is not a central midfielder and not centre-right in a midfield with three players. In a 4-4-2 he is a very good player.”
On wanting to sign a midfielder
“I thought for us it was important to have two players. One (Higuain) has arrived. I am waiting for the other.
“If he will arrive, I will be very happy, otherwise I have to work with these players. It’s not a big problem for me.
“(Ethan) Ampadu didn’t play very well in that position. He is very young, it’s a new position, and it’s not easy to play there in our team.
“In the second half, we tried with Mateo (Kovacic0, who is able to move the ball very fast – very clean. But now we have to see if he is able to play there in a defensive match.”
On Gonzalo Higuain not taking the penalty against Sheffield Wednesday
“I was a little bit (surprised) because he wants to score in every match, but I appreciate very much that he gave the ball to Willian. This was a wonderful start. It means he’s available to his team-mates for everything. I appreciated it very much.”
On how quickly Higuain can adapt to English football
“It’s not easy, of course. It’s not easy to adapt. In this championship, the Premier League, it’s so difficult. At the end of the game on Sunday, Higuain said ‘It’s so aggressive’. Here it’s normal!
“It’s not easy, but I think he has the right experience. He is a very great player, so he has to run, to adapt in a few matches.
“He has to do everything in less than one month, otherwise it’s [too] late.”
On how the season is going
“I think that in Europe at the moment, there are only two teams involved in four different competitions. So I’m very happy with this.
“We have to play a very difficult final. We have to play a very difficult match in the FA Cup. And we have to fight in the Premier League.
“But, at the moment, I’m happy with the results. We need to improve. We can improve. We need to improve, especially when we have to play normal matches.
“In the Premier League there are not normal matches. Everything is so difficult. It’s very difficult to win against every team, so we need to improve in that.”
On Kepa
“He’s improving. It’s taken him a lot of time to adapt. In England, in the Premier League, in the box it’s another sport. If you compare the same situations in Spain and in Italy, here it’s different.
“So it’s not easy for a young goalkeeper, Spanish, to adapt himself to this championship. But he improved very fast, I think.
“He will be for sure one of the best goalkeepers in Europe in the future.”
