Allegri says new Napoli role could extend De Bruyne’s career by two years

Massimiliano Allegri says he is trying to persuade Kevin De Bruyne to embrace a new midfield role at Napoli, despite the Belgium international preferring to operate further forward.

De Bruyne scored twice as Napoli beat Frosinone 3-0, opening the scoring from the penalty spot before completing the victory in the closing stages. Noa Lang added the second after following up when goalkeeper Lorenzo Palmisani saved a shot from Giovanni Di Lorenzo.

“He is an exceptional player, and I think he is at his best as a playmaker in a midfield two,” Napoli manager Allegri told Sky Sport.

“I told him he could extend his career by another two years if he played in this position. He does not like it very much because he enjoys playing further forward, but he produced an excellent performance against Frosinone.”

The match included a penalty incident involving Rasmus Hojlund. The striker initially stepped up to take the spot-kick, but Palmisani saved his effort. However, the referee ordered the penalty to be retaken after players entered the area before the kick was taken.

Allegri explained what happened when Hojlund spoke to him.

“He came to me and said, ‘Sorry, coach, but De Bruyne gave me the ball,’ so I told him he should have given it back to him,” said Allegri.

The manager praised Napoli’s attitude during a match in which he switched to a 3-4-3 formation following a difficult start to the season and a growing list of injuries.

“What pleased me most was the fighting spirit and desire we showed at the beginning of the match,” Allegri said.

He added: “If we analyse the performance from a technical point of view, there were six or seven situations where we reached good positions, but we were not even able to get a shot on target.”

The win lifted Napoli to 10 points, level with Frosinone in the Serie A table.

Benoit Badiashile made his first start for the club, while David Neres returned after a lengthy absence.

Napoli’s next match is against Villarreal on Tuesday in the Champions League. They are seeking a response after losing their opening game in the competition 1-0 to Arsenal.