Højlund has two goals this season and none since 5 September

Napoli paid around €50m for the 23-year-old striker, yet McTominay is carrying the scoring load. After the 3-3 draw with Roma, head coach Allegri has a problem up front before Monza on Wednesday.

by Gennaro SanninoSunday 25 October, 07:21 CET· 2 hours ago

Højlund con la maglia del SSC Napoli — Foto: store.sscnapoli.it

Højlund has not scored since 5 September. He is 23, Napoli spent around €50m to bring him in and they have given him the attack. He has two goals this season. We do not look for a culprit after every game, and we are not doing so now, but the problem is obvious and it has to be faced.

Against Bodø/Glimt the team scored four and he stayed off the scoresheet. Against Roma he worked, he fought, and a coast-to-coast run created a big chance for Olivera. Then, in our view, he wasted a header from a very good position in the first half. For a striker that is not a detail. Movement, pressing and involvement in build-up are all measured today, and that is fine. But the game is played for something else, and the man up front has to deliver it, even if it is ugly.

The comparison that hurts

Close to him plays McTominay, who is not a centre-forward. Since returning he has scored four goals, all in the last two games: two against Bodø, two against Roma, the second in the 83rd minute of the 3-3. That is double Højlund's tally in far fewer games. The gap is not only about aim but about how to be in the box. McTominay attacks space, goes after second balls and puts himself where the ball can become dangerous. From where we stand, he looks for the goal, while Højlund, for now, waits for it to come.

The rest of the attack does not ease the concern. Politano works and creates, and set up McTominay for the 2-0, but rarely scores. Lang mixes flashes of intuition with long spells out of the game. Giovane has started three games in a row and has not scored yet. When the attacking output depends on midfielders arriving late into the box, those goals are replacing the ones that do not come, not adding to them.

We wrote it in August: Højlund is an excellent player, probably destined to become a great striker, but it seemed risky to hand him the role without credible competition. It was not a rejection and we are not using it as vindication now. But the sample is small only up to a point. Napoli are ninth with 11 points and leaders Lazio have 22. The team cannot wait for the numbers to become statistically meaningful.

Allegri has promised a more attacking Napoli. On Wednesday at 20:45 CET (19:45 UK, 14:45 ET) at the U-Power Stadium, against a Monza side on 7 points, we will see whether that promise runs through the centre-forward or, once again, on McTominay's shoulders. The uncomfortable question is this: if Højlund has to play regardless, who asks him for goals?