Allegri considers switch to a back three, papers report

After Fiorentina-Napoli, Tuesday's papers don't all read from the same script on where the blame lies — and on the transfer window that never delivered, some are starting to ask questions.

by Gennaro SanninoTuesday 29 September, 08:40 CET· 2 hours ago

I NUMERI

Arena Napoli International graphic

Sky Sport open Tuesday's pages with a tactical story: Massimiliano Allegri is reportedly weighing a return to a back three, a switch built to help Napoli cope with a crowded month of league and cup fixtures.

significant changes in how the defenders are managed and new space for the forwards

It is not an isolated read. Other outlets are covering the same story from different angles. Some report that Allegri has so far gone along with a request for a 4-3-3 but is using the international break to think about a 3-4-2-1. Others point to Sam Beukema — stuck on zero minutes across five matchdays with an Achilles tendon problem — as the man being lined up for a possible back three. The papers agree the tactical workshop is open. None promise a back three is already the answer.

National team business also touches Napoli directly. La Gazzetta dello Sport goes with "Brivido calcio" for the eve of Turkey-Italy, while Tuttosport counters with "Siamo vivi, siamo forti" ("We are alive, we are strong"). Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Antonio Vergara are both involved, called up by Italy, with the Napoli captain initially named among the substitutes in favour of Kayode. The papers do not gloss over the detail, but it remains national-team news, not a verdict on Napoli.

On the comment pages there is real disagreement, and it is worth flagging. One line blames the "decimated" squad, hit by injuries, for the poor run of form. Another, assessing the title race, names Roma rather than Napoli as the credible challenger to Inter. The two readings do not sit together: one lets the team off the hook over the absences, the other has already written Napoli out of the conversation at the top.

Our take

Fine to talk about shape, but a back three is not the story of the day. It is a tactical plaster on a team that has lost real players — Anguissa, Beukema, Meret, Alisson — and is still waiting for a January window to fix what summer left undone. It is striking that none of Tuesday's pieces mention the protests aimed at De Laurentiis over the past few nights, which weigh more heavily on the Curva than any formation. On the split between those who excuse the squad and those already writing Napoli off, the truth sits in the middle: on the points collected so far, ninth place is the real position, and it should be called that. This is not a 4-3-3-versus-3-4-2-1 problem. It is a team that needs to start winning again. Full stop.