“He’s an outstanding player,” Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said of Napoli striker Lorenzo Insigne before the two sides faced each other in the Champions League in early October. “I’ve had to analyze him a few times. He’s still fantastic.”

Those words would come back to haunt the former Borussia Dortmund tactician as — after both sides canceled each other out and the game headed for a 0-0 stalemate — Naples-born Insigne finally found the back of the net in the last minute of the game, to the delight of the home supporters. 

Standing at just 5-foot-3, Insigne is nicknamed “Il Magnifico” after the 15th Century Medici ruler of the same name, and he has become part of the furniture at Napoli, the local lad having joined the youth ranks back in 2006. Only three short loan spells at Cavese, Foggia, and Pescara have interrupted his time at the club, and the arrival of Maurizio Sarri from Empoli in 2015 saw the now 27-year-old make a huge step forward. 

After Insigne made just 13 starts the season before, Sarri made him an ever-present fixture on the left wing of his precise 4-3-3 system, handing Insigne 34 league appearances in his first year in charge, followed by 35 and 36 in the two campaigns that followed. Yet after a tally of 18 strikes and nine assists in the middle season of the new Chelsea boss’ tenure at Napoli, last term his rate dropped to eight and 11, respectively.

With Sarri’s aversion to resting players, Insigne played a staggering 3,621 minutes last term, fatigue certainly seeming a crucial factor in his drop-off. As the coach left for Chelsea, president Aurelio De Laurentiis went for a man with an entirely opposite approach to rotation in Carlo Ancelotti, but those long-standing players like Insigne must’ve been apprehensive about such a change. 

The Neapolitan forward needn’t have worried as – after a brief period of experimentation – Ancelotti had his side playing in a 4-4-2 formation, rotating his personnel as expected. By the October international break, Insigne had almost equaled last year’s domestic tally of eight goals after registering six strikes in 581 minutes. 

His new role as a second striker within the new system had evidently changed the way Insigne had been playing, the pint-sized star creating fewer chances for teammates (2.3 per match on average down from 2.8) and fewer dribbles (a rate of 0.8 per game as opposed to 1.7) as his style has become more direct. 

“I always had faith in myself, but this time the coach put me a bit closer to the goal,” the forward revealed to Sky Italia after scoring versus Sassuolo. “That saves me a little effort in defense, but in return he asked me to be more precise and determined in my finishing. I am enjoying it more; I get to focus on one aspect and the fans love goals, so I love giving them goals to cheer.

“I am going through a good period of form. I hope to continue like this and to keep scoring regularly, but aside from all that, I really hope Napoli can go all the way in every competition.”

Ancelotti has clearly made a very important adjustment in altering Insigne’s position, and this player’s desire to advance as far as possible both in domestic and cup action will be vastly aided by his decision to rotate.

If Lorenzo Insigne can keep scoring while avoiding another burnout this season, perhaps this is the year he will truly live up to his moniker of “Il Magnifico.”

Chloe Beresford specializes in Serie A for a number of outlets and can be found on Twitter and on Facebook via her page CalcioByChloe.