Kayode starts for Italy as Di Lorenzo's minutes dry up

Giovanni Di Lorenzo played just eight minutes across two matches during this international break. For years the Napoli captain held Italy's right-back spot without anyone asking who might replace him. That question now has a name and a face: Michael Kayode, born 2004, Brentford full-back.

The picture gets more complicated

Marco Palestra, Chelsea's full-back, makes things harder still for the Napoli captain. He has missed recent call-ups through injury, with his return expected for the November break. If Mancini's plans hold, the right side could become a Kayode-Palestra pairing, with Di Lorenzo pushed out of the starting XI for good.

At Napoli, nothing has changed. Di Lorenzo remains captain, still wearing the number 22, and no one in the squad questions his role or the armband. But the picture from this break says something the club shirt cannot erase: a player once untouchable for Italy now watches from the bench, overtaken by a 22-year-old who reached the Premier League by way of Serie D. It is the question nobody at Castel Volturno (Napoli's training ground) says out loud, but the break has made it unavoidable: how long can a player stay a leader at club level and a bit-part figure for his country before the two eventually collide.

The November break, and Palestra's possible return, will show whether this was a blip or the start of a decline. Before that, there is the day-to-day business: Frosinone visit the Maradona on Saturday 10 October, and there the right flank is still Di Lorenzo's.