Spalletti: Lobotka had forgotten how good he was

Luciano Spalletti, now head coach of Juventus, has told Tuttosport how he found Stanislav Lobotka when he arrived at Napoli: a player on the margins who had forgotten how good he was.

Devi giocare su questo fatto, dicendo loro: 'Ho scelto te'. Bisogna dire qualcosa, a volte, per farli tranquillizzare.

Spalletti widened the point to the relationship between a coach and a player, citing Kvaratskhelia, Salah and Pizarro as examples of how position and context can bring out a player's talent — while quality itself remains the decisive factor. Napoli already have an agreement for Lobotka's contract to extend automatically by a year; his deal, along with Meret's, remains among the club's open dossiers.