A goal on his debut and two wins from two is a flying start for any new recruit but did we really expect anything else from Kevin De Bruyne.

The Belgian’s arrival at Napoli was one of the headline stories of the Serie A summer transfer window – a real statement capture who joined after a glittering decade at Manchester City, which yielded a Champions League win, six Premier League titles, five League Cups and two FA Cups.

Excitement was through the roof at a superb bit of squad-bolstering by Napoli in their quest for back-to-back Serie A crowns.

Swapping the tactical genius of Pep Guardiola for the strategic mastery of Antonio Conte, it was always going to be compelling how the Italian manager deployed De Bruyne. While it is still early days, encouraging signs suggest this could be the start of something special.

“He is different in technique and method from Guardiola,” De Bruyne told Corriere della Sera. “Conte knows how to build a compact team, like a single unit. He demands a lot from the group, and if you don’t work for the team, you are out.

“His demands are very clear; the more you play with him, the more you understand what it takes to stay at the top level. Everyone knows they have to work hard here and do their job; otherwise, someone else will take their place. This raises the intensity and the overall level.”

Slotting into a deeper, withdrawn station, that is more focused on control than chance creation, compared to his City days, where he was regularly in advanced locations and famed for his goal threat and playmaking, this is where Conte believes he can get the best out of the Belgian at this point.

Seeing as his role at City was tweaked often, and especially when Erling Haaland signed, where his scoring menace decreased and he morphed into an assist machine, he should have little worry adjusting to Conte’s plans.

Given the quality Napoli boast in midfield, such as league MVP Scott McTominay, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Stanislav Lobotka, Conte sees this as the best way to implement his new ace to accompany and supplement existing options.

While the 34-year-old De Bruyne operated more centrally against Sassuolo, it has been interesting to see him frequently occupy left-of-centre areas and essentially full-back zones, which he did to a far greater extent against Cagliari.

With Cagliari defending in a narrow mid or deep block for large parts, pulling into the left half-space has seen him support Napoli’s progression from the back and generate numerical and positional superiorities.

From here, not only can he help create overloads, draw defenders out of position and open pockets of space for team-mates to explore, he has also given them structural security while allowing flying full-backs Leonardo Spinazzola and Mathias Olivera to maraud upfield.

The fact McTominay and Anguissa love to push high increases the balance and stability De Bruyne has provided. The following screenshot illustrates him forming a 4v3 overload to allow Napoli to bypass the Cagliari press, with McTominay’s check towards the ball and Spinazzola pushing high and wide to supplement De Bruyne’s calculating positioning being key.

By drifting into these less populated wide areas, De Bruyne can inherit the ball and have more time and space to dictate proceedings with a whole field of view.

Once free from his markers, De Bruyne’s ability to deliver incisive line-breaking passes, slip disguised through balls into the channels and engage sharply in close quarters has been valuable.

There are echoes of the positions he occupied in the half-spaces at City, where his trademark crossing was such a weapon – albeit from slightly deeper areas and the opposite side here.

His comfort in these off-centre zones remains evident, though, for he is executing his actions cleanly and picking out team-mates – as illustrated in the screengrabs below.

Composed and unflustered even under heavy pressure, his poise on the ball has stood out too. Whether slowing the tempo, recycling possession or injecting speed into attacking sequences, his decision-making has brought a new level of clarity to the Partenopei’s desire to methodically break down opponents.

The image below demonstrates how influential his quarterbacking can be, as he punches a defence-splitting pass into Anguissa’s path (also note how Spinazzola is holding the width and how McTominay’s movement helps manipulate Cagliari’s defence).

Particularly catching the eye has been his relationships with Spinazzola and McTominay, as the interchanges have added variety to discombobulate defences.

This has enabled Spinazzola to motor forward and make a nuisance of himself on the overlap and underlap. The Italian’s searing movements have also effectively stretched opposition structures horizontally and vertically to cause disconnects for team-mates to exploit.

Then, to touch on his interactions with the Scot, De Bruyne often swapped positions with McTominay to allow himself to get in the No 10 spaces to wreak havoc, combine with Napoli’s compact midfield and embark on some penetrative surges into the box.

This has ensured he can have spells in and around the box, where his ingenuity can help unlock deep rearguards in a similar fashion to in his City pomp, plus caters to his long-range shooting ability and all-round finishing that Napoli hope will bear fruit soon.

While it will be tough for him to rediscover the goal production of his peak City days, his astute movement, which his team-mates have from time to time failed to oblige, and instincts when in range, should ensure he will find the back of the net with regularity.

The first two examples below underline the rotations with McTominay, where he has been able to push on and make a pest of himself higher up. The second pair of graphics show De Bruyne being overlooked in advantageous spots.

It is also worth noting he has occasionally formed a situational back three in build-up and switched positions with Anguissa and Lobotka to mix things up and give him and Napoli different looks, which has introduced another layer of unpredictability.

Even though he is not the quickest or most explosive these days, additional upside can be found from his crafty dribbling, with the latter aided by him operating deeper and enjoying plenty of room, where his sharp feints, subtle shimmies and nifty changes of pace mean he can gain territory and subsequently unbalance defenders.

His excellent set-piece skills have also been a highlight and his debut goal against Sassuolo was a wicked delivery that caused all sorts of confusion.

Furthermore, how Conte has instructed him to join the first line of pressing means he is not required to contribute hugely in defence, thus removing some of the physical and athletic burden. 

De Bruyne has performed his duties well, and a man who is well versed in the art of pressing from his days under Guardiola has responded to triggers smartly, curved his harrying to block passing lanes behind him and used the touchline as an extra defender when shifting into wide areas to keep opponents away from the middle.

Despite some promising tactical patterns and mechanics taking shape and intriguing partnerships developing across the pitch, patience needs to be exercised while De Bruyne and his team-mates completely assimilate. Moreover, a larger sample size has to develop before gaining a definitive picture of the areas Conte envisages him featuring most prominently in.

“He’s fully immersed himself in this environment, he’s perfectly understood the importance of the work, never a word out of place. He was a very welcome addition for the players who were already here,” Conte said.

“He’s had a top career and came here to get back into the game, without missing a second of training. He’s always done everything, available, now we’re trying to find the right balance with the four or the three (midfielders). There will be a lot of matches, an exceptional lad, he’s surprised everyone.”

For now, however, initial indications lead to Conte being happy to sacrifice his eye for goal in favour of a wider, deep-lying string-puller role that contains a heap of flexibility.

Although integrating and maximising his output is still a work in progress, much positivity can be extracted from his opening two matches for the table-topping Napoli, as Conte continues to build on the strong foundations laid last campaign. The slower-paced Serie A and minimised intensity appear to be suiting him nicely too.

After seeing off Sassuolo and ousting Cagliari, sterner tests are on the horizon. With Fiorentina up next before a special blockbuster at Manchester City looming in the Champions League, more will be revealed against better competition.

With Romelu Lukaku still recovering from injury and Rasmus Hojlund just joining to accompany Lorenzo Lucca in the striking ranks, in combination with McTominay and Co doing their thing, fans will be salivating at the prospect of what a De Bruyne-inspired Napoli could transform into.

Exciting times lie ahead – if Conte can make everything click to get all his big guns firing in harmony.