Sampdoria coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has stated that new signing Luis Muriel is the ideal replacement to the departed Manolo Gabbiadini.
The former Udinese man was signed for a €12 million fee on Friday, and Mihajlovic has reiterated that the Colombian is the only one to replace new Napoli recruit Manolo Gabbiadini, despite falling out of favour at the Udine club.
“I want to thank the board of directors and the president [Massimo Ferrero] for making the deal happen,” he said. “Muriel is the only one to replace Gabbiadini.
“In his days at Lecce, Muriel showed excellent potential, and I think Sampdoria is the perfect place for him.
“I am convinced that he will be able to perform.”
The former Fiorentina boss then went on to stress that he will not speak about Cameroon international Samuel Eto’o, who has been linked with Samp in recent weeks.
“Eto’o? I repeat, I will not speak about any players who we have not yet signed,” he said. “Of course, I’d like it to happen.”
Mihajlovic then went on to speak about his side’s 3-0 loss against Lazio on Monday, as well as giving his thoughts on Sunday’s game against Empoli.
“We did everything wrong against Lazio,” he said. “Little intensity, little aggression, and too many misplaced passes.
“The game against Lazio was the worst game this season from our point of view, and I’d like to apologise to the fans for such a peformance.
“The game against Empoli will be difficult, they are a really good side and Maurizio Sarri is a great coach; however, I have faith that we can bounce back from the defeat against Lazio.”
Sampdoria currently sit in sixth in the Serie A table with 30 points.
