NAPLES, ITALY – AUGUST 30: Kevin De Bruyne of SSC Napoli during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Cagliari Calcio at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on August 30, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
Napoli collapsed to a 6-2 defeat away against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, and now, outlets in Italy are beginning to question whether star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is becoming a ‘problem’ for the Partenopei from a tactical point of view.
Napoli, who had been looking to bounce back from a surprise 1-0 defeat away against Torino in Serie A over the weekend, fell to a 6-2 thrashing in the Netherlands on Wednesday night, albeit with three of those goals coming after Lorenzo Lucca’s second half sending off.
Conte and his players had started the 2025-26 season strongly, winning four games in a row at the start of the Serie A campaign, but they have since gone on to lose three of their last five matches across all competitions and are currently in 23rd place in the Champions League standings.
Gazzetta: Is De Bruyne becoming a problem for Napoli? 
NAPLES, ITALY – OCTOBER 01: Kevin De Bruyne of SSC Napoli battles for possession with Francisco Trincao of Sporting Clube de Portugal during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD2 match between SSC Napoli and Sporting Clube de Portugal at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on October 01, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
Following the 6-2 defeat to PSV on Wednesday evening, La Gazzetta dello Sport have questioned whether De Bruyne is beginning to become a ‘problem’ for Conte and his team.
The argument is that Napoli had one of, if not the most balanced midfields in the division last season with Stanislav Lobotka, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and MVP winner Scott McTominay, and that the signing of De Bruyne has impacted the balance of last season’s Scudetto-winning side.
Conte has had to shuffle his tactics around in order to accommodate the Belgian, swapping from a 4-3-3 to more of a 4-1-4-1, which has typically seen McTominay starting out on the left of the midfield four and coming inside to play alongside the Belgian.
SASSUOLO, ITALY – AUGUST 23: Kevin De Bruyne of Napoli and teammate Scott McTominay pose for a photo at full-time following their victory in the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and SSC Napoli at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on August 23, 2025 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
This switch in tactics worked in Napoli’s favour at the beginning of the season, but has not been quite as successful over the last few matches, particularly following an injury to Lobotka.
La Gazzetta dello Sport suggests that if one of Napoli’s first-choice midfielders is unavailable, then the 4-1-4-1 system does not always work, and that even a ‘star’ player like De Bruyne is not enough to get them out of the tough moments. There is also a suggestion that the balance between De Bruyne and McTominay has not yet fully clicked.
La Gazzetta dello Sport also claims that De Bruyne does not seem to be at his best physically speaking, and suggests that he has not yet found the synergy with the rest of his new teammates in Naples.
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