Billy Gilmour’s move from Brighton and Hove Albion to Napoli was certainly one of the more surprising moves this summer.
And if Antonio Conte’s latest comments, relayed by Pazzi di Fanta, are anything to by, he may be regretting the switch.
Gilmour joined the Italian side in a €14m move from Brighton at the end of August followed weeks of speculation and slow talks between the two sides.
He was one of several new faces to arrive in Naples as part of a rebuild of the squad for Conte, who, as is often the case, demanded transfers to bolster his new team.
The 23-year-old will be hoping he can kick on in Italy under the Italian coach after leaving Chelsea in 2022 for Brighton in the hope of regular playing time and the career progression that seemingly wasn’t on offer at Stamford Bridge.
Instead, he never really settled with the Seagulls and was moved on, although things have not gone to plan at Napoli either.
So far, he’s managed three appearances totalling 20 minutes of action in Serie A, but Conte has insisted his problems are not with the player, but the system.
“I pushed to have Billy because he is intelligent, he sees the play immediately and despite being short he is strong in tackling and recovering,” he said.
“He is making it difficult for me to make decisions. He and Lobotka can play together, while Anguissa and McTominay without a playmaker cannot coexist because we would lack playmaking qualities.”
