Manuel Akanji has backed De Bruyne to make a major mark in Italian football, saying the midfielder can still have a significant impact after an injury-hit first season at Napoli. Akanji described him as an extraordinary player and a close friend, and argued that the setback, not the level, defined the year.
The timing matters because De Bruyne is being judged as Napoli wait for their next coaching move to settle. Napoli have already reached an agreement with an experienced Italian coach, but that coach is still tied to the Rossoneri, and the club are waiting for his contract to be terminated before he can begin at the Stadio Maradona. That leaves De Bruyne's future and role under fresh scrutiny as the next season approaches.
Akanji said an injury kept De Bruyne out for a long time during his first season in Naples, and by the time he returned, the title race was already decided. In that reading, the season never gave him a fair stage. It also matches the broader sense around the midfielder: Kevin De Bruyne has been a player whose influence usually builds over time, as seen when he was named in Belgium's World Cup squad as Lukaku fought fitness and later in his attacking role under Rudi Garcia.
There is, though, a harder note in the background. Cristian Stellini said De Bruyne had never shown enthusiasm during that first season at the Stadio Maradona, which sits awkwardly beside Akanji's description of a player who can still change a game at the highest level. The contrast underlines how differently the same season can be read, depending on whether the focus is on what was lost to injury or on what was visible when he was back on the pitch. De Bruyne himself has also said he was happy Antonio Conte had left Napoli, adding another layer to a season that never settled into one clear story.
For Napoli, the immediate question is not whether De Bruyne has quality. It is whether the club can bring the next phase together fast enough to use it. Until the coaching situation is resolved, the discussion around his future will keep running ahead of the football.
