Carlo Ancelotti said James Rodriguez and Mauro Icardi would improve his Napoli. “I always had great centre-forwards in my career.”
Negotiations seem to have stalled with Real Madrid for James, as Atletico Madrid are now leading the race, while they battle Juventus for Inter outcast Icardi.
“A player in the James role can certainly help us in our finishing or in through balls for the strikers,” Ancelotti told TV Luna.
“I always had great centre-forwards in my career, from Pippo Inzaghi to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Icardi is a great centre-forward, as is Arkadiusz Milik.
“The Pole is perhaps a more complete player, even if the Argentine is a stronger finisher in the box. Talking about Icardi now would be undermining Milik’s qualities, but I am sure we’ll all be happy with the squad at our disposal come August 31.”
The Coach spoke to TV Luna after today’s 3-3 friendly draw with Serie B side Cremonese.
“We are trying new things, such as a higher pressing game, and at times it went better than others. We need to find more balance, but there is the risk of embarrassing results when the team is tired and still working on things.
“We’ve done most of the heavy fitness training and now can begin to focus more on tactics and style. We’re already building on last season’s foundations and will try to add something new.”
Ancelotti was asked if he was trying to remove the Maurizio Sarri influence from Napoli, but insisted it was more of a natural process.
“No, the focus on possession remains. We’re just trying to play a bit higher up the field, focus on one-on-one situations, which means running a few more risks. There will be more balance in future, as effectively the first choice midfield is still on vacation right now.”
Eljif Elmas arrived from Fenerbahce this week and made his debut as a substitute against Cremonese today.
“He is a purchase that we all wanted, coaching staff and club. We know him well, as we viewed him so many times. I expect Elmas to improve the quality of our midfield, which is already at a very high level.”
