Kevin de Bruin joined Naples after leaving Manchester City in the summer, but Belgian International has been criticised in the beginning of his life in Naples
The leaves were just beginning to fall in Manchester, and Kevin de Bruin was the middle monarch of Manchester City to its best for over a decade. However, Belgian maestros have already encountered turbulence in a new environment in Naples.
As for the city exit of De Bruyne, it was the case of playmakers who were fine-tuned towards the backdoor rather than abandoning the throne. To put it simply, in one of the club’s most decorated periods, the decision not to offer contract extensions to players who were often not talismans was divisive. De Bruyne himself made that clear.
Unfortunately for the 34-year-old, it was mostly a contest, not the comfort he discovered since linking with Naples and Antonio Conte in Italy.
The rift between De Bruyne and Conte had been showing the show ahead of the Italian champions’ meeting with Sports Lisbon in the Champions League when they saw the former overseeing the volley verbally in the direction of the bench after being replaced in Sunday’s defeat to AC Milan.
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Conte seemed unimpressed by De Bruin’s reaction, but he has been dismissing the incident. “I hope he’s upset with the outcome, because if he’s upset with something else, he has the wrong person…”, the former Chelsea and Tottenham head coach was quoted as saying over the weekend.
On the pitch, De Bruyne’s assets are mixed together. He scored three goals in five appearances, but completed two 90 minutes. His return to Etihad last month was ruined when he was prematurely taken away by Conte as part of a reorganization in the 26th minute, following a red card from Giovanni di Lorenzo.
His arrival was told as a Diego Maradona-esque capture to bid for Conte to evolve his title-winning team into a more owned team, but de Bruin is not grandiose but slanderous in the opening chapter of his Napoli career.
Pierpaolo Marino, former general manager of Napoli, has not only doubted De Bruin’s personal contribution to the pitch, but also claims that the midfielder presence has become a “problem” for Conte as he has influenced him as he reached the same height as Scott McTominai reached last year.
“De Bruyne is stepping on McTominay’s toe. He’s created the goal and not finishing like last year. That’s obvious. That’s a big problem.”
“Kevin is even disputing the alternative because he is confident he is making a big contribution. Napoli has influenced this season by penalizing penalties, but De Bruin players don’t need calibers for them.”
De Bruyne’s excursion to Italy has never been as close as ever, but his brilliance is uncontroversial. That alone suggests he will type the correct notes in time. Naples’ start to the season was not even disastrous as it was the only blot of their copybook against Milan and Man City. Only Inter can make the most of the 10 goals scored in five Serie A games.
On an individual level, de Bruin will feel there is a lot to prove after his first few months in Naples. Especially conte.
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