How Antonio Conte's Napoli became a safe haven for Manchester's rejects as Kevin De Bruyne makes Champions League return against Man City with rejuvenated Scott McTominay & Ramus Hojlund

While Hojlund and McTominay were seen as flops when they left United and De Bruyne was considered past his best at City, they were all seen as highly attractive propositions to Antonio Conte, who holds a special respect for Premier League players. Conte took the English league by storm by leading Chelsea to the title in his very first season despite an abysmal previous campaign under Jose Mourinho and then Guus Hiddink.

And while star names like Eden Hazard and Diego Costa played crucial roles in that triumph, the coach also got the best out of previously unsung players like Victor Moses, who he turned into a wing-back, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta. His experience gave him a special appreciation of physical players from England’s top flight and when he took his next job at Inter he populated his side with former Premier League players such as Matteo Darmian, Aleksandar Kolorov, Christian Eriksen, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez and Ashley Young, even signing Moses on loan for half a season.

His Premier League-heavy squad helped Inter win their first title in 11 years before Conte left after falling out with the board, as he so often does, over transfers.

And when he returned to Italy after a short-lived but highly eventful spell at Tottenham, he again looked to England. Billy Gilmour joined from Chelsea, he signed Lukaku once more (from Roma) but the missing piece was McTominay, signed just before the transfer deadline.

"Conte is a coach who is very methodical so he is passionate about physical players who run a lot, players who are strong, fast and who can follow his tactical instructions," explains Italian journalist Antonio Moschella. "That's above all why he wanted McTominay. It is clear that, like everyone else, he likes Premier League players. It's the top league in the world."

Moschella adds that Napoli have taken a keen interest in former Premier League players due to the success of Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, who arrived after a disappointing spell at Fulham, initially on loan, and later became their inspirational captain. "Since then they have been looking at players who did not do well in the Premier League but believing they could do well in Italy because the level is lower." 

And there is no better success story from this approach than McTominay.

Conte had identified a lack of steel in his team amid a shock 3-0 loss to Hellas Verona in his first game, when he declared his players had “melted like snow in the sunshine”.

With McTominay in the team, Conte changed Napoli’s formation from 3-4-2-1 to 4-3-3 with the former United man at the tip of the midfield. By the time McTominay moved to Napoli, he had already discovered his goalscoring touch. It first happened for Scotland after being deployed further up by Steve Clarke and then Erik ten Hag did the same for United. But even though McTominay had saved the Dutchman’s job with his brace against Brentford, he was still used sparingly, often as a last resort rather than a Plan A. 

And when United needed to raise cash in the summer of 2024, McTominay was the player the club decided to let go. Ten Hag did not want to lose him but nor did he put up too much resistance. Napoli and Conte, however, could not believe their luck. McTominay scored 12 goals in Serie A, including six in the final seven games, proving utterly crucial to them pipping Inter to the title by a single point.

"He never had a primary role at Man United, while here we gave him one," Conte said towards the end of last season. "He feels more complete and knowledgeable and he's reaching a key stage in his career where he needs to decide his direction. He's worked hard and now he's a complete player."

McTominay called the title win the best moment of his career, trumping the FA Cup final win with United over City and any other moment during his seven-year spell with his boyhood club. And he felt that Napoli appreciated him in ways that United had not. He told The Athletic: "When I got into the first team, I was quite misprofiled in where I was playing,” he said. “My strengths have always been getting into the box, scoring goals, being a problem in there. But I was being used as a No 6, or as a centre-back, and that has never really been my game."

"I think he wanted to prove Manchester United wrong and prove people in the Premier League wrong. He has gone over there and done that pretty successfully," said his Scotland team-mate Andy Robertson. “That’s credit to him, credit to his attitude and his determination to be the best version of himself. Now he is a king over there."

Given their success with McTominay, who has been nick-named ‘McTomadona’, it was perhaps unsurprising that Napoli leapt at the chance to sign another United flop in Hojlund. The club needed a new striker after Lukaku, another United reject who has thrived in Naples, ruptured his thigh in pre-season and was ruled out until December. 

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis had been interested in Hojlund since he had been at Atalanta and his disappointing second season with United, scoring only four Premier League goals and going 22 games without netting in any competition, had not put him off.

"I come with a lot to prove, I want to show myself in the best team in Italy, and Napoli is going to be very, very good,” Hojlund said when signing on loan for Napoli. "I always work hard, I like to say I want to die on the pitch, to give everything for the team, to score goals, create, and fight for everything."

And on his debut against Fiorentina the Dane looked nothing like the player he had become by the end of last season, shorn of confidence and power. In the 14th minute he got behind the defence and calmly tucked the ball inside the far post. Not long after he powered into the box and beat two defenders but with shooting options limited he calmly held the ball up for De Bruyne, who was only denied by a fine save by David de Gea. 

"Hojlund is only 22 years old, we got him from Manchester United, seeing as it brought us luck doing that with McTominay," said a pleased Conte. "We knew his qualities, he has great potential and can improve."

While McTominay has taken his career to a level never imagined and Hojlund is plotting a recovery from a major setback early into his career, De Bruyne had nothing to prove to anyone after his incredible decade with City. And yet he still felt aggrieved at the manner in which he was pushed out by the club, admitting to being “shocked” when told by Guardiola in April that his time was up. 

He felt the call was made because of the team’s collective struggles rather than due to his individual performances. And he felt that he still had "a lot to give at this level". Serie A might not be the same level as the Premier League but it is still in Europe’s top five leagues and Napoli are now its premier club, having won two of the last three titles.

"I probably would never have expected to come and play in Italy because I was in England, I loved it and I was very happy," De Bruyne said at his unveiling. "Then I found myself in a situation where I had so many options from different parts of the world. I made this decision based on my instinct."

The decision, so far, is looking like a good one. De Bruyne, who was allowed to wear Maradona’s retired No. 10 jersey in his first training session with the team, is thriving in a Napoli team that have won their opening three games and Thursday’s return to his former home is the ideal scenario for him to show that City were wrong for letting him go.

He will get a hero’s return from City supporters although they are likely to be less charitable to the former United pair of Hojlund and McTominay. But all three players are showing that not only is there life beyond the two Manchester giants - it can be even more enjoyable.