Politano lauds De Bruyne's injury-hit season
Matteo Politano described Kevin De Bruyne as a champion, despite the midfielder seeing his first season with Napoli hampered by injury.
De Bruyne arrived in Naples after a trophy-laden decade with Manchester City and was a marquee signing for Antonio Conte's side as it aimed to defend its Serie A title.
However, the 34-year-old picked up a thigh injury after scoring a penalty in a 3-1 win over Inter Milan, forcing him to undergo surgery and miss a large part of Napoli's campaign.
He made his return to action in March and finished his debut campaign with Napoli having registered five goals and three assists in 20 appearances across all competitions.
De Bruyne is one of several Napoli players to endure an injury-disrupted season, with the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Scott McTominay and David Neres also missing large parts.
However, Politano believes that De Bruyne's absence affected Napoli the most, with the Partenopei failing to keep up with Inter at the top, which has since won the Scudetto.
"We lost him for four months, and it was a significant absence," Politano said. "Having a champion of that level available is important and, unfortunately, we enjoyed him too little.
"It has been a long season with many commitments and injuries, but what we have built over these two years has been clear for all to see.
"We faced difficult moments where we sometimes struggled to put 11 players on the pitch, but we always tried to give our maximum."
De Bruyne was not the only one singled out for praise by Politano, with young talent Antonio Vergara also impressing during his first full campaign with the first team.
Vergara managed six goal involvements – three goals and three assists – in all competitions, while also completing 14 dribbles and creating 17 assists for his team-mates.
"He has impressed me enormously, he has great desire and real character," Politano added. "He must play freely and think only of himself and the team."
Napoli ends its 2025-2026 Serie A season at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona against an Udinese side that is 10th and missed out on the chance to qualify for Europe.
But one of its standout players this season has been defender Oumar Solet, who could have been playing for Napoli but decided against joining the Serie A giant.
"It's true that there was contact with Napoli in the past, but Red Bull Salzburg didn’t want to sell me," Solet told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"It is nice to be accosted to big clubs, but I am concentrated on Udinese. I am happy here, the club has faith in me, I play consistently and have the opportunity to grow.
"This is fundamental for me. Udinese made me feel at home. I live in the centre of a nice, tranquil city, which allows me to concentrate on my work."
