Napoli forward Dries Mertens has insisted that Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is a football-obsessed individual who is a wonderful coach to play under.
Starting out as a winger, Mertens developed into one of the most potent forwards in European football under the Italian and scored 67 goals during Sarri’s three years at Napoli.
The Italian is known for his attacking football and an unrelenting belief in his ideas, which led to Sarri moving N’Golo Kante to a more box-to-box role at Chelsea in order to slot Jorginho into his side.
Mertens admits that Sarri is obsessive about football and it almost seems that he is trying to catch up to everything at a breathtaking pace as he started out late in his career.
The forward also added that the Italian’s style of football is a joy to play under as it almost seems like the team play with an extra man because of the high line he employs on the pitch.
In an interview with the Times, Mertens said: “Sarri does not have an off button. I think he sleeps one hour a night and he is always thinking about football."
The Napoli star added: "I learnt a lot from him.”
“The thing I loved most about him is that you feel you are playing with 12, not 11.
"He puts the line very high so the strikers feel the midfielders are close.
“I’m sure now Sarri is learning things about London.
"He knows so many facts, he’s crazy but interesting.”
After a few poor results, Sarri’s Chelsea scored a big win when they defeated champions Manchester City at Stamford Bridge last weekend.
