Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri struggling to hide frustration at club's transfer policy

Frustrated: Maurizio Sarri
Action Images via Reuters
Simon Johnson3 January 2019

There is nothing like a transfer window for a Chelsea manager to begin to show how he really feels about the way the club operates.

Most start off their tenure by saying all the right things but as results start to go awry, frustration can’t be so easily contained.

That was certainly the case with Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, and now Maurizio Sarri is baring his teeth for the first time.

The Italian’s rhetoric has certainly changed over recent weeks compared with his comments at his unveiling six months ago.

Back then, with influential director Marina Granovskaia listening intently, Sarri appeared to accept he would have little say on player recruitment.

He said: “I think that I am one of the few managers who is bored by the transfer market. I don’t want to talk about the transfer market and I’m not that interested in it.”

Sarri went on to explain that it was his job to concentrate on the players he had and up to him to make them better.

One wondered at the time if that view would last, given one of the reasons he fell out with Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis was over a perceived lack of investment in the squad.

It should be pointed out that Sarri hasn’t reached his predecessors’ level of antagonism towards the Chelsea board just yet, but there is definitely a more challenging tone to some of his answers.

Only last week the 59-year-old seemed to lay the blame at Eden Hazard’s refusal so far to sign a new contract at the hierarchy’s door as much as the player in question.

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“I have not the power to do this,” he said. “I am the coach. I am not the president and not in charge of the market. I think we have to solve the problem if we want to programme the future.”

It was a rather bizarre thing to say given Chelsea have made it clear for over a year that they are prepared to give the Belgian in excess of £300,000-a-week to convince him to stay on.

After Chelsea toiled to a goalless draw against Southampton — the second game in a row in which the Blues have failed to score, let alone win, at Stamford Bridge — Sarri came out even more strongly over the club’s business in the market.

It is pretty obvious that Sarri wants more players to boost the squad now, not in the summer when new £57.6m transfer Christian Pulisic will arrive after a loan back to Borussia Dortmund.

The need for a striker has been clear from the outset and Sarri has asked for Gonzalo Higuain, while assistant manager Gianfranco Zola confirmed their interest in Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson.

He also wants a wide player due to injuries affecting Pedro, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Willian, while a replacement for Monaco-bound midfielder Cesc Fabregas has also been requested.

AFP/Getty Images

In fairness, Sarri repeated that it was his responsibility to “improve my players, my team, my offensive phase in the last 20 metres” following Wednesday's stalemate.

However, on more than one occasion Sarri dropped heavy hints that perhaps his wishes regarding new arrivals are being ignored.

Alvaro Morata, making his first start for eight games, failed to impress once again. The £58m man was perhaps unlucky to see a second-half strike ruled out for offside, yet he didn’t lead the line with any conviction.

It would be unfair to single out Morata for Chelsea’s malaise of late, though. After scoring 27 goals in Sarri’s first 11 League games, they have mustered 11 from the last 10.

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Hazard missed two opportunities to give Sarri’s side three points, but not much else was created. The spark of late summer has disappeared from their play.

Captain Cesar Azpilicueta claims there is no reason to panic. He said: “First of all, the approach is the same as the start of the season. But the line between winning and losing is very thin in football.

“Sometimes in the first games we arrived [in the box] less times, but we were more efficient, we scored the goals. At the moment, maybe, when we get the chances we don’t put them in the net.”

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