The 23-year-old Brazilian winger pushed for the transfer. In October, he had already faced Conte’s team as an opponent, and…

A man with turbo in his legs. Unpredictable, who breaks away and invents. Just what Antonio Conte wanted, to give Napoli new creativity to break down defenses. Alisson de Almeida Santos is the latest signing for the Azzurri: a 23-year-old Brazilian talent who seemed to have been left off Sporting’s transfer list after his winning goal on Wednesday night in the Champions League at Athletic: three minutes on the pitch, a three-point burst that gave the Portuguese direct access to the round of 16. A goal that changed the future of the team, but not his own. Alisson had already decided days ago to play for Napoli, and yesterday it was his firm desire to move to Italy that put Sporting in a tight spot. In the end, they gave in, accepting a loan deal worth around €3.5 million and setting an option to buy at the end of the year for a total of €20 million, including bonuses. Now all that remains is to speed up the exchange of documents to allow Alisson to reach Naples in the next few hours: the announcement is imminent, as the deal is effectively closed. Of course, a minimum of caution is always needed until the signatures are in place, but the possibility of a negative twist seems to have been averted.

Maradona already knows Alisson, who played against him in Naples on October 1, perhaps in the best Champions League night of the Conte era. The Brazilian came on in the second half and scared Napoli in open play. “A move that was almost worth the whole evening: the counterattack that could have made it 2-1 was all his,” read the Sports Predictions report card: 6.5, the same score as the best of the Portuguese players. Dribbling and speed, a natural right-footer who likes to start from the left and then look for the finish. At Sporting, they compare him to Leao, while in Brazil, some have even gone so far as to say that he resembles a young Raphinha. But comparisons are meaningless: Napoli, however, believes in his enormous potential and has decided to take a chance on him. It will now be up to Conte to find a way to make him shine. Alisson has everything it takes to fill the void left by Neres’ injury. Like him, he is Brazilian, and like him, he loves to start wide and cut inside to create numerical superiority.

Personality—  Bold, confident, with enormous room for improvement. Alisson has made the difference in the Champions League this year, proving to be one of the revelations of the revelation team. Eight appearances and three goals, with only one game as a starter. He comes on and breaks the game open, just as Neres did in his first months in Italy. He scored against Kairat and Marseille (MVP of the match) before his latest exploit in Bilbao. And now he already has his bags packed for Naples. The thrill of the Champions League had him excited, and now he will have to help Napoli return to Europe’s most prestigious competition to try and experience the effect of playing in the blue jersey. Alisson can’t wait.