With Massimiliano Allegri’s confirmation as Napoli head coach expected imminently, the tactical and personnel decisions already taking shape suggest a club preparing for more than just a cosmetic change.
A Summer of Waiting, Almost Over
It has been one of the more protracted coaching appointments in recent Serie A memory. Massimiliano Allegri agreed a two-year contract with Napoli in late May, shortly after his dismissal from AC Milan, yet weeks later he still cannot be formally unveiled. The obstacle is not ambition or terms. It is paperwork. Allegri’s exit settlement with the Rossoneri must be resolved before the Neapolitans can present their new coach at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, and according to Italian outlet Il Roma, that resolution is now a matter of days away.
The delay has been frustrating for all parties. Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna has been working with one hand tied behind his back, unable to communicate precise tactical requirements to transfer targets until the coaching structure is confirmed. Every day of uncertainty costs time in a competitive summer window. Yet beneath the surface, the blueprint is already taking shape.
The 4-3-3 Framework and What It Means for McTominay
Multiple Italian sources, including Corriere dello Sport and Sky Sport Italia, report that Allegri intends to shift Napoli to a 4-3-3 system. The change is significant. Antonio Conte built his title-winning side in 2024/25 around a 3-4-2-1, and even as Napoli slipped to second place last season, the three-man defence remained a fixture. Allegri has used a back three himself, notably at Milan in 2025/26, but his preference across his most successful periods has been a flat four.
For Scott McTominay, the shift carries immediate implications. The Scotland international played both as a left winger and as a central midfielder under Conte, often creating space for Kevin De Bruyne through the middle. Under a 4-3-3, the expectation across Italian football media is that McTominay returns to the box-to-box role he occupied so effectively during his first Napoli season in 2024/25, when he recorded 16 goal involvements in 34 Serie A appearances and was named the division’s most valuable player.
“McTominay’s movement into the box from deep is one of the most reliable attacking patterns in Serie A,” one analyst noted, speaking to Freebets.com, one of the UK’s longest-established independent resources for free bet offers and betting site guidance. “In a 4-3-3 with license to carry, his 13 goal involvements last season actually undersells what he brings. He pressed more ground, covered wider positions than his role demanded. A dedicated central brief suits him entirely.”
Napoli rejected offers from two Premier League clubs and a Saudi Pro League side for McTominay this summer, deeming him untouchable. That decision now makes obvious tactical sense. The incoming coach has already flagged him as central to what comes next.
Lobotka’s Commitment and the Midfield Core
The decision to secure Stanislav Lobotka on an extension beyond 2027 was not incidental. Reports in Italy indicate that Allegri himself made clear to Napoli’s hierarchy that the Slovakian midfielder was non-negotiable, a structural piece around whom the new system would be built. Lobotka’s role as the deepest midfielder in a three-man unit gives Allegri the ball retention and positional discipline the 4-3-3 requires at its base.
With Lobotka anchoring the midfield, the three central positions become McTominay on one side and De Bruyne as the forward-facing eight. Frank Zambo Anguissa remains an option Allegri appreciates, given the Cameroonian’s profile suits the type of combative, dynamic midfielder the Tuscan tactician has historically favoured. The competition for those two advanced midfield slots across a full Champions League and Serie A campaign is, by any measure, welcome.
The Wider Context: Rebuilding After Conte
Allegri inherits a squad with genuine quality but one that fell 14 points behind Inter Milan in the final 2025/26 standings. Conte’s departure by mutual consent at the end of the season closed a chapter that brought a Scudetto in 2024/25 but failed to sustain that level over a second campaign. The question now is whether Allegri, despite a difficult single season at Milan, can leverage his track record of building sustained winning cultures.
His CV speaks to exactly that kind of consistency. Five consecutive Serie A titles at Juventus between 2014 and 2019. Two Champions League finals. A record at club level that the majority of his contemporaries cannot match. Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis made a deliberate calculation: experience over novelty, structure over pressing intensity.
One observer, following the appointment closely, put it plainly: “Allegri does not reinvent squads. He defines them. He told Napoli which players he needed kept, which players he needed released and what system he was going to run before he had signed a single contract document. Lobotka staying is a consequence of that conversation. McTominay’s untouchable status is a consequence of that conversation. This has the feel of a coach who has studied the squad and already knows his starting eleven for the first match in August.”
Pre-season preparations will begin in earnest once Allegri’s appointment is formalised. At that point, the transfer window activity Manna has been planning behind the scenes is expected to accelerate. Several outgoings are anticipated, including Romelu Lukaku, for whom Napoli have set a reported asking price of 10 million euros, and Leonardo Spinazzola, whose contract is expiring and who has attracted interest from both Milan and Juventus.
What comes next for Napoli under Allegri will be one of the central storylines of Italian football in the year ahead. The infrastructure is in place. The coach knows his system. The squad has been shaped, at least partly, to his preference. The waiting, finally, is almost over.
