Kevin De Bruyne has suggested that the attacking role he occupies with Belgium suits him more than the position he has been given by Napoli manager Massimiliano Allegri.
The midfielder scored twice as Belgium defeated Vincenzo Montella’s Turkey 3-0 in the Nations League on Friday night, taking his international tally for the latest fixtures to two goals.
Speaking after the match, De Bruyne said he felt physically stronger while playing under Belgium manager Mark van Bommel.
“Van Bommel’s attacking football suits me and I’m doing better physically,” De Bruyne said, according to SportMediaset.
De Bruyne has started all three of Belgium’s games during this international break, generally operating as the most advanced midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
At Napoli, however, Allegri has usually favoured a 4-3-3 system with a flatter midfield. That setup requires De Bruyne to play in a deeper role and, according to the report, means he does not have the same opportunity to express his attacking qualities.
The 34-year-old has scored once and provided one assist in five Serie A appearances for Napoli this season. He has only started when Scott McTominay has been unavailable.
De Bruyne’s comments come amid reports that Allegri’s relationship with some of his first-team players has become strained, with the Italian manager said to be dissatisfied with members of his squad, including the Belgian.
The former Manchester City player was publicly critical of Napoli’s previous manager, Antonio Conte, before his departure. De Bruyne said he was pleased to see Conte leave after claiming that promises about the team’s style of play had not been fulfilled.
“I was happy to see him leave,” De Bruyne said previously, adding that there had been “promises made about the way we would be playing, but at the end of the day, not much of it happened.”
There are concerns that some aspects of that situation could be emerging again under Allegri, with the contrast between De Bruyne’s Belgium role and his responsibilities at Napoli now drawing attention.
Under Van Bommel, the Belgian has been used higher up the pitch as part of a double pivot behind him. Allegri’s preferred structure places greater defensive and positional demands on De Bruyne in midfield, limiting his involvement in the final third.
His two-goal performance against Turkey has therefore provided another indication of where he feels most comfortable, although Napoli’s domestic campaign will resume with De Bruyne returning to Allegri’s system.
