Napoli have no replacement for McTominay or Anguissa

McTominay is out for at least a month after heart surgery, and Anguissa is in the final year of his contract with no like-for-like cover in the squad. A transfer window that closed without reinforcements in midfield or defence is already costing Napoli three games in.

by Gennaro SanninoSaturday 5 September, 23:39 CET· 9 hours ago

Lo stadio Diego Armando Maradona di Napoli

Lo stadio Diego Armando Maradona — Foto: Tarkus42 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The day after the collapse at San Siro, Napoli's most serious problem isn't in the scoreline from the 3-2 defeat — it's in the treatment room. McTominay has already had the heart ablation procedure the club confirmed, and he will be out for at least a month. Next to him in midfield there is no like-for-like cover: Anguissa has entered the final year of his contract, expiring in 2027, with talks over a renewal tense and the after-effects of the back problems that dogged him last season, and the squad has no one else for his role.

Defence isn't much better off. Gutierrez was sold for €30m and not replaced: Olivera and Spinazzola are what's left, and Spinazzola is not getting any younger. Elmas's sale months ago also cost the midfield its last versatile option, the player who could cover more than one role when needed.

The summer window closed last Tuesday, 1 September, at 20:00, with the transfer balance in the red by €47.5m — a figure for the accounts more than for the pitch, as we already knew — and just one real attempt to strengthen the squad: a loan with an option to buy for Gatti, turned down by Juventus.

A question worth asking in full

With an obvious problem to solve — an experienced international midfielder and a young player with physical upside, perhaps funded in time by cashing in on Anguissa before his contract runs out — sporting director Giovanni Manna chose total caution. No one is asking him to risk the finances that have made Napoli a model club in Europe, not even after the wild buys of the Conte era such as Noa Lang and Lucca. But in the club's centenary year, 100 years on from 25 August 1926, handing Allegri a squad with two clear gaps — defence and midfield — open for months rather than caused by a sudden injury, is a decision Giovanni Manna will have to explain.

The bill arrived sooner than expected. At San Siro, Napoli were 2-0 up early in the second half through Politano and Höjlund, then conceded the comeback and lost 3-2: a result that leaves them 12th with 3 points after three games. Allegri talked about different substitution calls to make, but the problem sits further back: with Lobotka and Gilmour the only pairing properly covered, the midfield is short of breath for a long season.

Arsenal visit the Maradona on Wednesday 9 September at 21:00 CET (20:00 UK, 15:00 ET), the first game of the Champions League league phase. With De Bruyne unable, at his age, to play every three days, the gap behind the two holding midfielders is no longer a hypothetical for the transfer market. It's the first thing Allegri has to manage between now and the October international break, with no time to put it off.