Jose Callejon has heaped praise on the two Napoli Coaches he has worked under, Rafa Benitez and Maurizio Sarri.

The 29-year-old's Spanish compatriot Benitez was responsible for signing him from Real Madrid in 2013, and he has since enjoyed a successful period at the San Paolo.

"I was very happy [at Real Madrid], but I felt I needed to take a step forward in my career and be a first team regular," Callejon told Spanish daily AS.

Jose Callejon has heaped praise on the two Napoli Coaches he has worked under, Rafa Benitez and Maurizio Sarri.

The 29-year-old's Spanish compatriot Benitez was responsible for signing him from Real Madrid in 2013, and he has since enjoyed a successful period at the San Paolo.

"I was very happy [at Real Madrid], but I felt I needed to take a step forward in my career and be a first team regular," Callejon told Spanish daily AS.

"Rafa Benitez called me and told me that I would do well here. I didn't doubt it for a second."

Shortly after Callejon's arrival in Naples, Benitez publicly stated his belief that his new acquisition could score 20 goals in a season, comments that the attacking midfielder admits put pressure on him but were to his benefit.

"That sentence put pressure on me, but it worked! I was very happy with him, he taught me a lot, we won two trophies and I got my first call-up to the national team. I can only thank him."

After Benitez's departure in 2015 and Sarri's appointment, there was speculation as to whether Callejon would seek a move elsewhere. However, the Spaniard insists he and his teammates quickly bought into the former Empoli boss' vision for the club.

"He made a great impression on the group, we loved his style of play. 

"He told me he was going to rely on me, he explained his ideas to me and I was hooked straight away. You can see the results.

"He transmits a lot face to face. We love his training methods – he always wants possession, he always wants us to attack and that we enjoy ourselves. And he achieves it, even Pepe [Reina] enjoys it!"

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