Kevin De Bruyne has been told to lean into the ‘tension’ at Napoli with Antonio Conte.
European football broadcaster Andy Brassell was speaking to talkSPORT about the Belgian’s spat with Conte at the weekend before De Bruyne played a huge role in Napoli‘s Champions League win on Wednesday.
De Bruyne has made a good start to life in NaplesGettyThe Belgian maestro grabbed two assists for Rasmus Hojlund as the Italian giants beat Sporting Lisbon 2-1 at home.
It followed De Bruyne’s angry reaction to being substituted at the weekend in the 2-1 defeat to AC Milan.
The former Manchester City star scored in the match but was furious to be withdrawn and could be seen saying, ‘F****** hell. We are f****** losing man.’
He and Conte made no eye contact as De Bruyne stormed off to the bench.
After the match, the outspoken Italian ripped into De Bruyne.
He said: “I hope he was upset about the result, because if he was upset about something else, he’s got the wrong person.”
Despite their spat, De Bruyne was back in the starting XI and delivered a top performance on Wednesday night, and Brassell thinks De Bruyne needs to lean into the tension with Conte.
He said: “You need those little moments of creative tension. And I think both De Bruyne and Conte believe that. They know that you’ve got to lean into it.
“Now, look, I think De Bruyne has come into a team where they’ve got an incredibly strong midfield anyway. And he knows if they work on it and if they play it right, he’s going to get so much liberty to do all the cool stuff that he wants to do.
“He’s got [Scott] McTominay and [Andre] Anguissa and [Stanislav] Lobotka backing him up, not to mention Billy Gilmore and the other players that they’ve got in reserve.
“This is a team that as time goes by, will give him everything he wants and everything he needs. I think it’s a great move for him.
“And, you know, I think when you’re at a club as intense as Napoli, with a coach as intense as Antonio Conte, defeat stinks big time, especially with the standards they’ve set over the last few years. And the standards that he’s used to at Manchester City.
“If anything, I would say this is confirmation that they’ve got the right player and he’s got the right environment for him.”
Conte and De Bruyne’s clash is water under the bridge nowGettyWhat has De Bruyne’s arrival meant for McTominay?
Scott McTominay became a Napoli hero last year, and was even nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
He found a role as an advanced midfielder in Conte’s team, but this year, he has had to adapt for De Bruyne.
The Belgian’s best position is in the number ten role, seeing McTominay move out to the left.
Understandably, he hasn’t been at the levels of last year as of yet.
But Brassell thinks it will all come good for McTominay, and it is just a case of adapting to De Bruyne’s lack of pace.
He said: “Yeah, I mean, he’s still getting himself into those goal-scoring spots, McTominay. So I don’t think that’s necessarily an issue.
“And we know that when it’s required that he can sit deeper, De Bruyne. And, you know, that’s really somewhere where his passing is very helpful.
“Now, he can’t quite make the runs all the time that he used to make when he first come into the Premier League.
“You know, I think the really arresting thing about him when he arrived at Manchester City was that he’s a playmaker who’s really fast as well. And that he could sprint past his strikers and past the last defender.
“And that’s maybe not so much him now. But that’s fine. Because McTominay is going to make those runs into the box. And when he gets there, he’s a great finisher.”
McTominay is still an important player for Napoli, but his role has changedHow is De Bruyne doing?
The 34-year-old has made a strong start to life in Italy.
He has three goals in Serie A as Napoli look to defend the title they brilliantly claimed last year.
And in the Champions League, he has two assists, so it’s been a good beginning for De Bruyne in Naples despite the spat with Conte.
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