Piotr Zielinski welcomes Kostas Manolas and James Rodriguez to Napoli, but admits he must learn from the defender to show more “grit.”
The Partenopei have been the only real contenders amid the Juventus hegemony over the last few years and hope the departure of Max Allegri, replaced by former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri, will give them the chance to break that domination.
“I want to show all my potential and can assure everyone I am at 100 per cent,” the Polish midfielder told Radio Kiss Kiss.
Piotr Zielinski welcomes Kostas Manolas and James Rodriguez to Napoli, but admits he must learn from the defender to show more “grit.”
The Partenopei have been the only real contenders amid the Juventus hegemony over the last few years and hope the departure of Max Allegri, replaced by former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri, will give them the chance to break that domination.
“I want to show all my potential and can assure everyone I am at 100 per cent,” the Polish midfielder told Radio Kiss Kiss.
“I have a good and honest rapport with Carlo Ancelotti. We really care about the Coach, he is a great teacher. We’ve got a strong squad and were already a fine team, but now other top level players have arrived and we want to make our fans happy.
“My dream is to win the Scudetto with Napoli. It’d be special for us and for the Neapolitan fans who deserve this satisfaction. We hope to achieve it. This is going to be a more interesting season overall, I think, especially with Antonio Conte at Inter.
“I am not irritated that people say I lack grit, as I know that I need to be more determined at times. I want to concentrate on improving myself and I promise you’ll see more of that grit from me this season.
“I have another two years on my contract and we are negotiating an extension. It’s going well and we hope to go forward together.”
With talk of Mauro Icardi and James Rodriguez coming in, Zielinski was asked about his Poland international teammate Arkadiusz Milik.
“I think this can be his year, although he also scored plenty of goals last term. He is in good shape and has a special left foot, so I hope he can get even more goals this time around.
“Of course, James would be very welcome, as he is world class and has incredible technique. If he does arrive, it’d be great news for all of us, because he is a fantastic player. It’s obviously not just the fans who want James here, but also the players and Ancelotti.”
There have already been some new purchases this summer, as Manolas arrived from Roma in a €36m deal.
“Manolas is among the best defenders in the world and after two days, I’ve already seen the grit people talk about. We also saw what he can do at Roma and on top of that, he’s a great singer!
“We have everything it takes to do well at Napoli. Even the Stadio San Paolo has been modernised. I want us all to do better than last season and be competitive in every tournament.”