Lazio's New Recruits Finally Thriving In Sarri's System, Making Their Mark

As anticipated, the summer transfer market had a predictable effect on the team's performance. It was expected to take a while before all the new signings were fully integrated into Sarri's system, and indeed it took a month and a half before the coach had a complete or near-complete squad at his disposal. However, today marks a turning point as the wait is over and all players are finally available to play.

The team's triumphs over Celtic and Atalanta were both secured thanks to strategic substitutions, indicating that the current roster boasts greater depth compared to previous seasons. The offensive play was remarkable in its strategic execution.

According to Il Corriere dello Sport, Castellanos is the only player who has arrived in Auronzo, albeit for only a few days. The rest of the additional players moved in August, with Guendouzi being the most recent arrival. Despite this, Guendouzi is among the most frequently utilized players on the team.

In addition, the duration of waiting was prolonged due to less than ideal physical conditions of a few arrivals. This began with former Juventus player Rovella, who was recuperating from an injury that had prevented him from participating in training, and Pellegrini, who was not part of the squad. The waiting time was further extended by Kamada, who had to train alone since he was not contracted with any team.

Despite the absence of any prior athletic preparation, the Japanese midfielder has been the most utilized among the new additions. Kamada began working towards matching his teammates' physical fitness in early August, just in time for their debut in Lecce. Thus far, the former Eintracht Frankfurt player has played for a total of 464 minutes, making him one of the top eleven players favored by Sarri (coming in ninth overall). He is also among the few who have scored a goal at the onset of the season, as seen in the Napoli-Lazio match.

After a sluggish beginning, Rovella has secured the second position with a total of 292 minutes. These minutes were amassed during the last three championship matches where he was always among the starting players and had a few short appearances as a substitute. 

Moving on to the third step of the podium, we find Matteo Guendouzi, who has accumulated 282 minutes without missing a single game since his arrival in the capital, including eight appearances in total, three of which were as a starter.

Taty Castellanos, who, like Kamada, netted a goal in the Lazio-Atalanta match, has seen 234 minutes of playtime and has been in the starting lineup for the last two Serie A matches. Meanwhile, Isaksen has recorded 195 minutes, and Pellegrini has played for 168 minutes, trailing behind.