Napoli dressing-room unrest reported after Villarreal and Venezia defeats

Napoli are five defeats in nine official games, and reports of tension at Castel Volturno (the training ground) have arrived at the worst moment. Arena Napoli understands the dressing room is not a united group. We cannot prove what follows, but it fits what we have seen.

On the pitch, Lang stopped his warm-up in protest at Venezia when Alisson Santos came on in his place. After Villarreal there was a misunderstanding with De Bruyne. Allegri closed that down before the Penzo game with an "Assolutamente no" ("Absolutely not") when asked whether he was annoyed.

The numbers are poor. Napoli are 9th with 10 points after 7 league games, nine behind leaders Inter, and have no points in the Champions League after Arsenal and Villarreal.

An ageing squad and four names for January

Our judgement on Allegri is clear. Without the Champions League game on Tuesday 20 October, the line would have been to consider sacking him. Changing coach can make a season worse, though, as it did when Napoli finished tenth after Spalletti's title, going from Garcia to Mazzarri and then Calzona. Arena Napoli also understands the board has not contacted other coaches and that Palladino was never an option.

The harsher verdict is on the squad: a team at the end of its cycle, needing to be rebuilt and made younger, with big problems underestimated. The proposal is to let De Bruyne, Lucca, Lang and Anguissa go in January. Whether sporting director Giovanni Manna could sell them is an open question, and not a trivial one.

The four cases differ. Lucca arrived from Udinese for €35m and has been overtaken by Giovane in the pecking order up front. If Torino are looking at him again, it is partly because he has not repaid his fee. De Bruyne scored twice against Frosinone, then vanished at Villarreal and Venezia, where he also missed a penalty that could have made it level. Stankovic saved it in the 68th minute.

The January window opens on 2 January and closes at 20:00 CET on 2 February 2027. Whoever built this squad answers for how it is taken apart.

We believe words are not enough in a dressing room with real problems, and the club's silence on the atmosphere is starting to weigh as heavily as the results. On Tuesday 20 October, Napoli host Bodø/Glimt at the Maradona at 21:00 CET (20:00 UK, 15:00 ET). It is a chance to show the rumours are only rumours.

Allegri has promised a turnaround from that game: "Usciamo da questo momento con me" ("We come out of this moment with me"). We will see it on the pitch, not in the stories.