A rift is emerging at one of the Serie A giants and West Ham United are the beneficiaries as Lazio president Claudio Lotito is caught going scorched earth at Maurizio Sarri over Taty Castellanos.
The Hammers’ gain appears to be Lazio’s loss.
The troubled Biancocelesti are again embroiled in off-field drama, with Corriere dello Sport detailing the transcript of an explosive leaked phone call between motormouth president Claudio Lotito and a Lazio supporter.
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The sale of Taty Castellanos, it appears, is a major bone of contention in the Stadio Olimpico boardroom.
Claudio Lotito not happy as Taty Castellanos helps spark West Ham United revival
“A good coach is one who makes his players play well. Otherwise, he’s not good,” Lotito said, aiming the blame for a poor campaign squarely at under-pressure head coach Maurizio Sarri.
Castellanos scored only twice while starting a grand total of eight Serie A matches in the first half of the campaign.
Lotito clearly cannot understand why Castellanos, a big-money signing and a reliable goalscorer in La Liga with Girona, was often left out of Sarri’s XI. Or, in fact, why his returns left a lot to be desired when the Argentina international did feature.
“[Winger Tijjani] Noslin is a good player. I paid 20 million euro for him. Will he play [under Sarri]? No. I paid 14 million for [Reda] Belahyane, and I think he played well. Will he play? No. Castellanos wasn’t playing and [West Ham] gave us 30 million,” Lotito fumed.
“[Ex-Arsenal midfielder] Matteo Guendouzi was perfect in a two-man midfield. Sarri played him in a three and he got fed up and wanted to leave [for Fenerbahce].
“How come everyone likes our players except Sarri?”
Hammers’ gain is Lazio’s loss as Maurizio Sarri clings to his job
Finish this sentence: Axel Disasi is West Ham’s BEST DEFENDER since…
Statistically speaking, Castellanos is the fourth-most successful January signing in this season’s Premier League. Only Bournemouth winger Rayan, Manchester City duo Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi, plus West Ham United teammate Axel Disasi are averaging a better points-per-game tally at their new employers.
Upon the event of his £27 million move to East London, ex-Chelsea, Napoli and Juventus coach Sarri admitted that Castellanos wanted to leave because of a lack of regular game time in the Italian capital.
A reason which does not wash with Lotito. As far as he is concerned, the fact that no Lazio player has more than three Serie A goals in 2025/26 says more about the head coach – and his apparent lack of faith in the club’s most prominent number nine – than Castellanos’ relatively underwhelming record in Italian football.
Castellanos has found the net three times in ten matches as a West Ham player. His most recent came in the 5-2 defeat by Liverpool on Saturday.
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