Andrea Sottil, former coach of Udinese, had the offensive midfielder Lazar Samardzic under his command last season in Serie A.
Samardzic is a target for Milan in this summer's transfer window. Here's how Sottil spoke about the Serbian, born in 2002, to 'Sky Sport':
"We're talking about an extraordinary player between the lines. For me, he's a natural trequartista, very humble, and with a great desire to improve. He will have a fantastic career."
Sottil then reflected on what happened last summer when Samardzic was close to transferring to Inter, which ultimately fell through. The player had to stay in Udine and it took him some time to return to his usual level of performance.
"That situation took a lot out of him. He had completed the whole preseason: he was very focused, and then the negotiations started."
"Football is also like this. Udinese, like many other teams, makes capital gains from these types of deals. This long negotiation caused him to lose a bit of rhythm. I hear that his father is involved in everything: Samardzic eventually entered the season with the right mindset, but this situation definitely disturbed him", Sottil explained.
