ANTONIO CONTE EVALUATES RASMUS HøJLUND’S TACTICAL GROWTH IN 3-4-2-1 SYSTEM
Antonio Conte praises Rasmus Højlund's growth but warns that Napoli still lags behind Juventus and Inter financially.
Antonio Conte chatted about how Rasmus Hojlund has gotten better since scoring those two goals against Cremonese. But he repeated that Napoli isn't quite up there with Juventus, Inter, and AC Milan just yet.
Napoli was super confident after winning the Supercoppa Italiana in Riyadh on Monday. Still, they knew they had to get back on track in Serie A after losing to Udinese, which knocked them out of first place.
Hojlund was the MVP in Cremona, scoring both goals in the 2-0 win and almost getting a third.
Conte raved about Napoli's crazy year:
We're celebrating an awesome year where we did something totally unexpected by winning the Scudetto. Then, we wrapped it up with the Supercoppa. "Beating teams like Milan, Inter, and Bologna in that tourney was something else," Conte told DAZN Italia.
It was an amazing year full of wins, and the parties in Naples are something else. We celebrated the Scudetto and the Supercoppa. Now in Serie A, we're trying to stay near the top.
We're dealing with a lot of problems this season, some of them pretty bad, but we're facing them like tough guys. I always tell the guys they can win or lose, but they have to respect that Scudetto patch on their shirts and make our fans proud.
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic didn't have to do much saving at Stadio Zini, even with Jamie Vardy playing. Plus, Hojlund's already scored more goals for Napoli than he did all of last season with Manchester United.
Hojlund is super young, only 22, and can get way better. Since he joined us, he's become a key player. He's figuring out where to be, how to keep the ball, and when to come forward or fall back, Conte said.
He's really in sync with the team. In my style of play, the strikers are key, and he has a lot of space to get even better.
Again, they had a weaker team since Romelu Lukaku, Sam Beukema, Mathias Olivera, Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa, Billy Gilmour, Alex Meret, and Kevin De Bruyne were out.
Because they didn't have many options in midfield, Conte switched things up to a 3-4-2-1 setup, and it seems to be working.
Hannibal said If there's no road, we have to make one, the coach said with a smile.
We're building our road with hard work, facing issues head-on. This is the last game of the year, and we were missing a bunch of big players again. I just hope they all come back in 2026, hopefully soon. But Lukaku and De Bruyne's injuries are pretty bad, so we can't rush them. We have to be patient.
Conte said after winning the Supercoppa Italiana that he didn't think Napoli was ready to be a dominant force in Italian football. So why is that?
A few reasons. We're just starting. Our setup isn't there yet. "I think Juventus, Inter, and Milan have better structures, more depth, and bigger salaries than everyone else," the coach replied.
Whenever someone outside that group wins a trophy, it's a big deal. We can't pretend we're on the same level as those clubs.
We're trying to close the gap with hard work, but we can't ignore that it's there.
RADJA NAINGGOLAN SLAMS NAPOLI’S SCOTT MCTOMINAY AS "JUST AVERAGE" IN TV RANT
Radja Nainggolan has sparked controversy by calling Napoli's Scudetto winner Scott McTominay "average" in a scathing TV interview.
Scott McTominay’s journey from Manchester United to Napoli has been wild. He’s helped the club win a Scudetto, snagged a Ballon d’Or nomination, and his goal tally is impressive. But not everyone’s sold on him. Even with all those honours, one Serie A legend isn’t convinced. Radja Nainggolan slammed him as just “an average player".
After McTominay’s £26 million jump from Old Trafford in 2024, he took off. He won the Serie A MVP, clinched Napoli’s fourth Scudetto with a spectacular overhead goal against Cagliari, and made a big mark in Italy. Still, Nainggolan, never shy with an opinion, tore into him during a TV interview. Despite McTominay racking up 26 goals in 76 games and getting a Ballon d’Or nod, Nainggolan didn’t hold back. “I don’t like him,” he said on Sky Calcio Unplugged. “He gets his goals, 12, 13, 14 a season, but his general play? He doesn’t have the technique to move between the lines. He’s just average.”
And he wasn’t content to leave it at that. Nainggolan compared himself to today’s names, arguing he was better than both McTominay and Inter’s Hakan Calhanoglu at his best, though he admitted Nicolo Barella sits above him. “At my peak, I was better than McTominay and Calhanoglu, but Barella is on another level,” Nainggolan said. “He doesn’t always score a lot, but when he does, it matters, and you always feel his presence on the pitch. I like De Bruyne, too; he sees things nobody else does. He’s above me, and Modric...he’s always been world-class.”
Of course, Nainggolan’s take doesn’t really jibe with life in Naples. McTominay has become something of a hero there; his face is on murals around the city, the fans have dubbed him ‘McFratm’ (McBrother), and he helped Napoli win the Supercoppa Italiana in December 2025. Even if Inter seems ready to grab the Serie A crown back, McTominay’s reputation hasn’t dipped. His knack for scoring from midfield has been crucial for Conte’s side.
Nainggolan also touched on Belgium’s so-called “Golden Generation” and why they didn’t deliver a major trophy, despite stars like Lukaku, Hazard, and De Bruyne. He knows the team well, having made 30 appearances before retiring after he got left out of the 2018 World Cup squad. “We had Lukaku, Hazard, De Bruyne, and Courtois. Too many superstars, too many egos,” Nainggolan said. “Everyone wanted to be the star, to be the most important guy, and that just doesn’t work.” His take pretty much confirms what fans suspected: there was plenty of talent, but not enough unity.
MANCHESTER UNITED AND CHELSEA ENTER RACE FOR DISCOUNTED €50M-RATED RAFAEL LEãO
Discover why Rafael Leão’s value has plummeted at AC Milan and which Premier League clubs are leading the race to sign him.
Just a year ago, everyone was buzzing about Rafael Leao and his rumoured €120 million move to Chelsea. Fast forward to this summer’s transfer window, and it looks like AC Milan’s ready to let him go for nowhere near that amount. Manchester United, along with a few others, are circling, hoping to get him for much less.
Last week, Gazzetta dello Sport broke the news: Milan now values Leao at just €50 million. That’s a wild drop, especially since six months ago they slapped a €100 million price tag on him.
So what happened? Why did his value tank so quickly?
Perception plays a big part. Leao’s estimated transfer value hasn’t actually changed that much. FootballTransfers’ algorithm had him pegged at €72.5 million last July, and now he’s at €70.7 million. But Milan’s own estimate? That’s fallen off a cliff.
Last summer, Milan wanted €50 million above the algorithm’s number. Now, they’re ready to accept an offer that’s €20 million below it.
Leao once had everything going for him in Milan. In the 2021/22 season, he carried them to the Scudetto, racking up 11 goals and 10 assists. Clubs were fighting over him, and in 2023, Milan rewarded him with a hefty €7 million salary and a massive €175 million release clause. That’s when top European clubs started sniffing around for a record-breaking deal.
But the new contract didn’t spark another big season for Leao. In his next campaign, he scored 15 goals and managed 14 assists, but fans started to turn, especially after two weak outings against Roma in the Europa League.
Things haven’t improved since. Early in the 2024/25 season, Milan benched him for disciplinary reasons, and he seemed pretty unfazed, something that sparked more criticism. He’s had some public clashes with head coach Max Allegri, too. Despite still being Milan’s top scorer, he hasn’t scored in two months. And the fans? They’ve booed him at home games, most recently against Juventus and earlier against Udinese.
Now, Milan looks ready to move on. Leao’s raw talent is still obvious, but at San Siro, the excitement has faded. SciSports, the data analytics folks, show his performance is in “significant decline” based on their SciSkill rating. Still, they think he can bounce back.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Milan plans to hold off until the World Cup, hoping Leao puts on a big show for Portugal and builds hype again.
He’s still got admirers. Arsenal’s been keeping tabs on him, FootballTransfers said back in February. Chelsea, Liverpool, and United are all in the market for a left-sided attacker and would jump at the chance to grab a rejuvenated Leao.
Sure, the €120 million rumours are a thing of the past. But the old Leão, the top-class player, is still in there somewhere. He just needs the right club, coach, and a fresh start.
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