Napoli weigh January return for Eljif Elmas from Atalanta

The Macedonia midfielder spent time at Napoli before his Atalanta move, and a comeback is being discussed as a way to ease Kevin De Bruyne's defensive load, not as a done deal.

by Rosaria CimminoSaturday 3 October, 21:19 CET· 2 hours ago

Elmas con la maglia del Atalanta — Foto: tuttomercatoweb.com

Napoli could bring back Eljif Elmas. The scenario emerged in the last few hours and involves the Macedonia midfielder, now at Atalanta. Any return to Castel Volturno (the training ground) would put him at Massimiliano Allegri's disposal, but only in the January window, open from 2 January to 2 February 2027 — the summer window closed on 1 September and only free agents can be signed outside those dates.

Napoli's midfield is already a work in progress. McTominay's new contract is still far off and Anguissa's has got complicated, with the Cameroon international heading towards a free transfer at the end of his deal. For January, Giovanni Manna has reportedly identified two other targets, Coulibaly of Monaco and Szymański of Rennes. Elmas is a different kind of idea — not a numerical replacement, but a tactical one.

Elmas already knows the club, his former teammates and Italian football from his previous spell in Naples. His versatility — able to play in several zones, with quality between the lines, late runs and a role in building play — would let Allegri switch shape within the same match, something the current 4-3-3, confirmed in the test against Avellino on 2 October, does not offer with the players currently available.

The De Bruyne effect

The most interesting knock-on effect concerns Kevin De Bruyne. With more cover behind him, the Belgian could ease off his defensive duties and focus more on attacking play, with greater freedom to create in the final third. A different balance of midfield roles would also affect Rasmus Højlund, changing his position and the way Napoli try to get the ball to him in the box.

This remains a hypothesis, not a defined deal, and it is worth treating it that way. Napoli have had what Opta calls their worst league start in ten years, ninth with 7 points after five matchdays, and talking about new tactical balances while the team is still struggling to find a stable one with the players already at the club shows how open this question is right now. Allegri, it is worth remembering, has just denied using the back three tried out in the test matches during the break and confirmed the system the side will use against Frosinone.

Before any transfer talk, there is Saturday 10 October's game against Frosinone at the Maradona, then the Champions League trip to Villarreal on 13 October. The Elmas scenario, if it goes anywhere, will face its first real test only when the January window opens.