Politano Praises De Bruyne Despite Napoli Injury-Hit Campaign

Napoli approach their final Serie A fixture against Udinese with second place within reach, yet much of the focus remains on Kevin De Bruyne, as Matteo Politano highlighted the midfielder’s influence despite an injury-hit first season in Naples.

Antonio Conte’s side need only one point to be sure of finishing second, matching Inter’s record of six top-two finishes in Serie A since 2015-16, while Udinese arrive in 10th having missed out on European qualification.

De Bruyne joined Napoli after a trophy-filled decade with Manchester City, arriving as a headline signing for Conte as the club attempted to defend the Scudetto, but a serious thigh problem soon disrupted the 34-year-old’s debut campaign.

The midfielder suffered the injury just after scoring a penalty in a 3-1 victory over Inter, which led to surgery and kept De Bruyne out for around four months, limiting opportunities for Napoli to rely on the playmaker’s quality in key phases.

Despite that absence, De Bruyne returned to action in March and completed the season with five goals and three assists across 20 matches in all competitions, offering short but visible flashes of creativity during an otherwise interrupted year.

Politano underlined how injuries shaped Napoli’s campaign, with Romelu Lukaku, Scott McTominay and David Neres also missing long spells, but the winger felt De Bruyne’s long lay-off had the greatest impact on their failed title defence against Inter.

“We lost him for four months, and it was a significant absence,” Politano said. “Having a champion of that level available is important and, unfortunately, we enjoyed him too little. It has been a long season with many commitments and injuries, but what we have built over these two years has been clear for all to see. We faced difficult moments where we sometimes struggled to put 11 players on the pitch, but we always tried to give our maximum.”

Inter have already secured the Scudetto, while Napoli’s attempts to keep pace faded during that injury-heavy stretch, although Politano stressed that the group continued to compete, even when Conte sometimes had difficulty naming a full starting XI.

Napoli vs Udinese: Vergara’s emergence and attacking promise

De Bruyne was not the only player praised by Politano, who also pointed to Antonio Vergara’s growth during the youngster’s first full season in the senior squad, highlighting the midfielder’s numbers and mentality as positives for Napoli’s future.

Vergara produced six direct goal involvements in all competitions, scoring three times and providing three assists, while also completing 14 dribbles and creating 17 chances for team-mates, underlining a capacity to influence games between midfield and attack.

Politano was impressed by the academy product’s approach, saying: “He has impressed me enormously, he has great desire and real character,” before adding: “He must play freely and think only of himself and the team.”

Napoli vs Udinese: Solet’s decision and defensive dominance

On the Udinese side, defender Oumar Solet has been one of the season’s standout performers and could have been lining up for Napoli, having previously been a target before deciding to remain elsewhere and later joining the Friulian club.

No player in Serie A has recorded more tackles won than Solet’s 56, while the defender also leads the league with 207 duels won and 1,990 successful passes, combining ball-winning strength with reliable distribution at the back.

Solet explained that a proposed move to Napoli did not materialise, saying: “It’s true that there was contact with Napoli in the past, but Red Bull Salzburg didnt want to sell me,” Solet told La Gazzetta dello Sport as quoted by Football Italia. “It is nice to be accosted to big clubs, but I am concentrated on Udinese.I am happy here, the club has faith in me, I play consistently and have the opportunity to grow. This is fundamental for me. Udinese made me feel at home. I live in the centre of a nice, tranquil city, which allows me to concentrate on my work.”

Napoli vs Udinese: key players to watch

Rasmus Hojlund enters the match as a central figure for Napoli, having produced one goal and two assists across the last two Serie A games, matching the attacking output from the previous 10 league fixtures combined.

Udinese know Hojlund well, as the forward has played 204 Serie A minutes against them without scoring or assisting, which makes this fixture an opportunity for the striker to end that particular run at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

For Udinese, Arthur Atta has become a crucial midfield threat, scoring three goals in the last three Serie A away appearances, already one more than across the previous 25 away matches in the competition for the player.

Atta is also second among Serie A midfielders for shots after carries of at least five metres, with 26 attempts, trailing only team-mate Nicolo Zaniolo on 28, although Zaniolo is currently unavailable through injury for this closing league fixture.

{TABLE_1}

Napoli host Udinese with an imposing recent record in this fixture, having avoided defeat in 18 of the last 19 league meetings with the Friulani, winning 14 of those games and scoring 46 goals, an average of 2.4 per match across that sequence.

The only Udinese victory in that run came on 14 December, when Napoli lost 1-0, but Conte’s side are unbeaten in the last 14 home Serie A matches against Udinese, winning 12, with the visitors’ most recent away league success in Naples dating back to 17 April 2011.

Udinese could still reach two important milestones, as a win would give the club a league double over Napoli for only the second time and the first since Francesco Guidolin’s 2010-11 team, while also taking them beyond 50 points for the first time since 2012-13, when they finished fifth with 66 points under Guidolin.

{TABLE_2}

OPTA’s model favours a home success, giving Napoli a 61.1% chance of victory, with a 21.8% probability of a draw and Udinese rated at 17.1%, reflecting Napoli’s dominant head-to-head numbers and stronger league position ahead of this closing Serie A meeting.

With second place almost secure for Napoli and Udinese chasing historic markers in points and head-to-head results, the match at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona brings together contrasting storylines shaped by injuries, emerging talents and missed transfers, alongside long-running statistical trends that still lean towards Conte’s side.