AFTER 22 years with Manchester United, Scott McTominay looks set to leave the Red Devils for pastures new.
McTominay, 27, will join Napoli in a £25million transfer, subject to the agreement of personal terms.
Yet with more than 250 appearances under his belt at United, becoming one of his club’s and nation’s most important players in the process, he leaves as an irrefutable Carrington success story.
The Lancaster-born lad has been associated with the Red Devils since the age of five after attending the club’s youth development centre in Preston, before later starring in the youth set-up alongside Marcus Rashford.
His first professional contract was signed in 2013, before he went on to make his senior debut against Arsenal in 2017 after remarkably growing 14 inches in just two years.
McTominay’s success at Man Utd has been built on hard work and willingness to fight for the badge, as well as midfield versatility and a knack for scoring important goals.
Initially used as a defensive midfielder and later a box-to-box player, his tireless and robust style of football endeared him to the Old Trafford faithful early on.
A late goal against Manchester City from 40 yards out in front of the Stretford End and a stunning two-minute brace against Leeds only strengthened that bond.
Yet it was the 2023/24 season that proved to be his most prolific goalscoring campaign as he netted ten goals, often of great importance, for Erik ten Hag‘s underperforming side.
His displays in attacking midfield saw him starting the victorious FA Cup final over Man City, but were not enough to convince club bosses to hand him a new contract.
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Instead, with just one year left on his deal, he is set to be sold to Antonio Conte‘s Napoli, with his exit set to facilitate the arrival of Paris Saint-Germain star Manuel Ugarte.
McTominay has a proven track record of being able to effectively carry the ball forward, while only six Napoli players – four of whom are defenders – won more aerial duels and only three with more than 700 minutes played had a better tackle success rate last season.
That is not to say McTominay is perfect. It is no secret he is not the best when it comes to building up play from deep and has been accused of being a passenger in such phases of play.
This is a big part of the reason he is so effective when having his responsibility limited to the attacking third.
But Napoli, who are coming off the back of a season which was the worst title defence in Serie A history, won’t just be getting a physically dominant player with a knack for scoring big goals.
Instead, they will also land a star whose character and mentality have been praised by every manager he has worked with.
In McTominay’s breakout season, Jose Mourinho described him as a player with “special character”, highlighting his humility, aggression and bravery.
Both Ralf Rangick and Ten Hag praised the Scot’s leadership skills as well, with the latter calling McTominay a “very important” player in his squad.
McTominay made his most career appearances under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the Norwegian admitting he made a “selfish decision” to prevent the midfielder from going on loan to Derby in 2019.
He later added that McTominay was a “Man Utd player through and through”.
And it is not only those who managed him directly who had kind words for him, with Sir Alex Ferguson saying: “When you watch Man United pick their team for a big game, McTominay’s name is in it.”
McTominay revealed words of advice Ferguson gave to him when they met in 2018: “When I was in the development centres I was in and around The Cliff (the United training ground).
“Alex Ferguson was there and he spoke to my dad.
“After the memorial service for the Munich Disaster earlier this year he pulled me aside and told me: ‘Make sure you do play for Scotland!’”
Scott McTominay is a kid with a special character, very humble, aggressive in a positive way, brave, he’s a special kid
Jose Mourinho
The following month McTominay made his international debut, and has gone on to earn 52 caps and make himself one of the first names on the Tartan Army teamsheet while being named Scotland’s Player of the Year in 2023.
After Napoli’s opening day 3-0 loss to Verona, a fuming Conte blasted his team’s mentality by saying they “melted like snow in the sun” after going behind.
McTominay’s intangible mental rigidity and leadership capabilities should go a long way to helping to remedy that.
And with compatriot Billy Gilmour also reported to be edging closer to a transfer to Naples, that should easily cover any weaknesses in McTominay’s technical game.
With United now going down the path of a more technical midfield base, McTominay’s minutes this season would likely be limited to off the bench cameos in the final third.
However, McTominay likely feels he has done enough to possibly earn a starting position somewhere, which could be part of the attraction to Conte’s Napoli.
McTominay departs Man Utd with an FA Cup and Carabao Cup to his name, and whatever the future holds he will be a sorely missed figure around Old Trafford both on and off the pitch, as Rio Ferdinand has said.
But now is the best time for both parties to call it a day, and offer McTominay and partner Cam Reading the chance for a change of scenery in sunny Naples.
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