Why Napoli’s Constantino Favasuli could be the next big thing in Italian football

In their last outing, Napoli beat Bologna 1–0 at home to mark their first win since the season-opener against Genoa last month.

The game had been stuck in a stalemate until Costantino Favasuli came onto the pitch for Matteo Politano for a spirited cameo, providing the assist for the game’s only goal, scored by Stanislav Lobotka.

Favasuli’s performance would have given Napoli boss Max Allegri plenty to think about, especially after the stop-start nature of their campaign thus far. The Partenopei have struggled to maintain attacking phases, seemingly running out of ideas when plan A fails.

Favasuli may just have provided the team the jolt they had been looking for. Against Bologna, off the right flank, he offered intensity and attacking nous from out wide they had been missing, which is striking given he was brought in from Catanzaro originally to occupy defensive roles, having primarily played as a wingback and fullback.

Now, Allegri will be keen to offer more appearances to the 22-year-old Calabria-born wide man, and see whether he really could make sustained contributions at both ends of the pitch.

Favasuli’s potential did not fly under the radar while he was playing in Serie B for Catanzaro. He even received his first Italy cap in May and was later picked up by Napoli for €7.5 million.

Before club football is put on pause for a three-week international break, Napoli will head to Fiorentina, whose academy Favasuli came through. Having shone against Bologna after making his debut against Arsenal in the Champions League, with his boyhood side up against him, and Allegri about to get some thinking time to find ways to get his season going, Favasuli could not have asked for a better setup to showcase he can be more than a deputy defender out on the right

Anshuman Joshi | GIFN