Manna admits Napoli must find a different level in Europe
Ahead of Napoli's trip to Villarreal, sporting director Giovanni Manna explained the thinking behind five changes to the starting XI and addressed Scott McTominay's contract situation.
Napoli's sporting director Giovanni Manna said his side must raise their level in the Champions League compared with last season, speaking before the away trip to Villarreal at the Estadio de la Ceramica, according to Football Italia.
Massimiliano Allegri made five changes to the team that beat Frosinone 3-0 in Serie A on Saturday, with Giovane handed his Champions League debut. The Brazilian winger was only added to Napoli's UEFA squad list this week, replacing the injured Costantino Favasuli.
Why Allegri is turning to his bench
Manna framed the changes not as caution but as a deliberate use of squad depth. He told Sky Sport Italia that with nine matches packed into the next 29 days, rotation is less a luxury than a necessity, though he was clear it has limits: three or four players remain, in his words, irreplaceable and will start whenever fit.
That distinction matters tactically. Allegri is not treating this squad as interchangeable parts but as a core group supplemented by players chosen for what they offer against a specific opponent. Giovane's recent form was cited directly as the reason he starts against Villarreal rather than simply featuring from the bench as he did at the weekend.
The Champions League problem Napoli have yet to solve
Manna's comments carry an implicit admission: neither Napoli nor Villarreal progressed beyond the league phase of the competition last season, and Napoli have not won away in the Champions League for almost three years. He said the aim now is a top-eight finish that guarantees direct qualification to the knockout rounds, rather than the play-off route, and that doing so requires points even against teams playing well, pointing to Villarreal's recent performance against Real Madrid as evidence of the scale of the task.
That context explains the stakes behind what otherwise looks like a routine group-stage fixture. A team that has struggled to win on the road in Europe, facing an opponent already showing it can compete with Real Madrid, has little margin to treat rotation as risk-free. Manna's language, stressing effort and a strong collective performance rather than tactical surprise, suggests Napoli are approaching this as a test of application as much as system.
McTominay's importance and the contract stand-off
Manna also addressed reports that Real Madrid have been interested in Scott McTominay, confirming that contract talks over an extension have stalled but insisting the midfielder wants to stay in Naples. He said there is an economic element still to be resolved but that the club is working toward an agreement that satisfies both sides.
The director went further on McTominay's value to the team, calling him probably the most important player in the side for his contribution over the last two seasons and noting that Napoli felt his absence during recent weeks. That he starts against Villarreal, after a period out of the side, underlines how central he remains to Allegri's plans even amid uncertainty over his long-term future.
The fact that Manna chose to discuss the contract situation in such direct terms, rather than deflecting, suggests Napoli see value in publicly reinforcing McTominay's stated wish to stay, at a moment when speculation about Real Madrid's interest has been circulating.
Wider ambitions across three competitions
Asked about Napoli's targets this season, Manna set out ambitions across Serie A, the Champions League and the Coppa Italia, while tempering expectations with an acknowledgment that European football often turns on fine margins and form at the right moment.
He pointed to the club's recent trajectory as evidence of unfinished business domestically: a Scudetto the season before last, a second-place finish last term, and a title race that turned on a 3-2 defeat at San Siro that at one stage looked won. Manna said Napoli have not yet established the consistency they are chasing, but expressed confidence in the squad to find it.
He also flagged an eventual need to lower the average age of the squad, describing it as something the club is aware of and prepared to address at the end of the season. That is a longer-term project rather than an immediate one, but it frames the current emphasis on rotation and squad balance as part of a broader shift already under way.
Napoli's immediate target in Spain is pragmatic: points on the board in a competition where, by Manna's own admission, last season's level was not good enough. Kick-off at the Estadio de la Ceramica was set for 20.00 UK time, with Inter facing Club Brugge the same evening in the competition's wider round of fixtures.