Corbo: Napoli 'doing everything' to lose McTominay

Antonio Corbo did not hold back in his column for La Repubblica: "The president must strengthen midfield immediately to better support De Bruyne. McTominay's genius and physicality are necessary for Napoli. It looks as though they are doing everything to lose him." The verdict comes with the Scotland international's renewal stalled since 1 October, the club holding the fee at €70m against wage demands of around €9m a season, and Real Madrid having made contact with his entourage in recent days.

A pattern of waiting on renewals

The sharpest part of the column targets method, not a single case: "On renewals, Napoli are the gold medallists of waiting around: Kvaratskhelia, more than the capricious Osimhen, was a sting for those running the club." It's a pointed reference, arriving two and a half weeks after Kvaratskhelia's move to Paris Saint-Germain, completed on 26 September after months of back-and-forth over an extension.

Corbo's picture extends to two more high-profile names in the dressing room: Meret's contract runs out in June 2027 with no formal talks under way, while De Bruyne — also out of contract on 30 June 2027 — is rumoured to be heading for a free departure, with American clubs in the background. Three midfielders, or midfield-adjacent key men — McTominay, Anguissa, De Bruyne — with their futures in doubt at the same time: not an isolated case to debate, but a pattern Corbo's criticism brings into focus.

Napoli come into this column eighth in the table on 10 points from six games, three straight positive results following the 3-0 win over Frosinone, six points off leaders Inter and Lazio. It's form that justifies neither alarm nor celebration, but it sharpens the point Corbo is making: a team that wants to stay competitive cannot afford to go into a season incomplete in the area where real matches are decided. On Tuesday evening, 13 October, at the Estadio de la Cerámica against Villarreal, that midfield — with Anguissa still a doubt and McTominay back from heart surgery — will be tested without waiting for the next transfer window, which reopens only on 2 January.