New Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri wants to keep forward Gonzalo Higuain

Gonzalo Higuain is still a key player for Maurizio Sarri at Napoli

Rome, July 9 Italian football club Napoli's new head coach Maurizio Sarri sang praise to the attacking abilities of Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain, considering the player to still have much to offer as the centrepiece of the club's future project.

In an interview with Radio KissKiss, published on the club's official website on Wednesday, Sarri said Higuain is clearly a player with several attacking capabilities, which provides a wide range of options for the club, reports Efe.

Sarri added that he would like to make the most of Higuain, who the coach believes has stronger energy than he lets on.

On the other hand, Italian press rumoured a possible exchange, in which Colombian Duvan Zapata would leave for Udinese and the Brazilian Allan would come to Naples. For his part, Sarri admitted that he did not want to speak about market transfers, but did praise Allan's dynamism and quality.

Sarri, 56, served as manager of Empoli since 2012, in which time he contributed to the club's promotion to Serie A last season.

Sarri was appointed as Napoli manager following the departure of Spanish coach Rafael Benitez to train Real Madrid.