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News
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De Bruyne faces McTominay criticism: Man City legend ‘an enormous problem’ in Napoli
Robin Bairner
- 1 Oct 2025 13:57 BST
- 4 min read
News
Manchester City legend Kevin De Bruyne has been told that he is proving to be an “enormous problem” at Napoli.
De Bruyne, 34, made a free transfer to Napoli from City in the summer and, on the face of things, has made a positive start to life in Italy. The Belgium international has three goals in five Serie A matches as Antonio Conte’s side sit joint-top of the table with 12 points.
However, a 2-1 loss against AC Milan at the weekend has sparked criticism of the veteran’s play, with claims that he is stifling Scott McTominay.
Compared
Scott McTominay
M, DM (C)
Napoli
Scott McTominay
M, DM (C)
Napoli
VS
Kevin De Bruyne
AM, M (C)
Napoli
Kevin De Bruyne
AM, M (C)
Napoli
|
|
ETV |
|
| €48.3M - €59M | ETV Range | €13.9M - €17M |
| 28 years old (08 Dec, 1996) | Age | 34 years old (28 Jun, 1991) |
|
Scotland
|
Nationality |
Belgium
|
McTominay was one of the revelations of world football last term as he played a starring role of Conte’s men as they won the title, leading to him being voted 18th in the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
Considered surplus to requirements at Manchester United last season, his box-crashing ability was vital for Napoli as they lifted the Serie A crown for a fourth time.
‘Napoli’s problem is De Bruyne’
That has not been so evident early this season, and critics in Italy are pointing to De Bruyne as the reason.
“At the moment, the problem for Napoli is De Bruyne,” former sporting and technical director of Napoli, Pierpaolo Marino, claimed to Televomero.
“He’s making Napoli predictable and he’s stepping on McTominay’s toes. It’s a huge problem.
“Kevin even gets angry at being replaced because he’s convinced that he’s making a big contribution. In this Napoli team, his only impression has been taking penalties – and you don’t need a player of De Bruyne’s calibre for that.”
Conte seemed to recognise De Bruyne’s limitations when he was the player taken off in the Champions League clash against Man City when the Italians were reduced to 10 men early in the match.
Now the veteran playmaker will hope to silence his critics as Napoli host Sporting in the same competition on Wednesday.
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