Massimiliano Allegri is trying to convince Kevin De Bruyne to take on a new role for Napoli, but the Belgian is not keen on playing deeper in midfield.
De Bruyne 'even better' in a deeper midfield role for Napoli, insists Allegri
Kevin De Bruyne scored twice after starting in the central midfield pairing, and Massimiliano Allegri believes he can be successful there.
Napoli got back to winning ways in Serie A as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Frosinone, with De Bruyne scoring twice on either side of Noa Lang's goal.
He scored his first from the penalty spot – dispatching the re-take after Rasmus Hojlund's initial effort was saved but pulled back for encroachment – and rounded off the scoring with the last kick of the game.
De Bruyne has notched his first Serie A brace and his 12th multi-goal performance in the top five European leagues – it is the first time he has done so since April 2024 against Crystal Palace for Manchester City in the Premier League.
Due to the injuries in his squad, Allegri opted to change to 3-4-3 formation, with De Bruyne lining up alongside Stanislav Lobotka in the centre of midfield.
"He is an extraordinary player, and in my view, if he's working as a playmaker in that midfield pairing, he's even better," Allegri told Sky Sport Italia about De Bruyne.
"I told him he can extend his career by another couple of years if he plays in that position.
"He doesn't like it very much, as he enjoys himself more in an advanced role, but he did really well.
"Let's not forget, he was out injured for a long time last year; [Andre-Frank Zambo] Anguissa and [Billy] Gilmour were injured too, so it takes a little time and patience to get everyone in good shape.
"The most important thing is to be more solid and protect the defence; we still allowed too many opportunities."
Napoli moved up to eighth in Serie A with their third win of the season and are now unbeaten in their last three league games after back-to-back losses.
The Partenopei were particularly dominant in the first half, having 13 of their 19 shots before the break, and Allegri is keen to replicate that performance going forward.
"The best thing was the aggression and hunger we showed at the start of the game," Allegri added.
"If we want to analyse it technically, there were six or seven situations where we got into good positions and didn't even manage to get a shot on goal.
"Frosinone are a team who can go on the counter if you don't finish that move; it turns into a ping-pong match and forces you to use up a lot of energy.
"In the second half, we were a little more defensive, as there were many players back from a long time out and they were getting tired.
"We did well to control the situation, then had the chances that we simply cannot get wrong; we needed to make the right passes when two-on-one or three-on-two."
