Serie A title winner: McTominay a fan favourite in Italy
After taking in 255 appearances for the Red Devils, McTominay jumped at the chance to spread his wings and leave British football. Having rarely been a guaranteed starter at Old Trafford, the 28-year-old has become a fan favourite in Naples.
He captured the Italian top-flight crown last season, posting a career-best return of 13 goals across all competitions and landing MVP honours. There have been suggestions that he, alongside girlfriend Cam Reading, may be feeling a little unsettled during his second year with Napoli.
McTominay transfer: Man Utd & Barcelona credited with interest
La Liga giants Barcelona have been credited with interest, while Newcastle and Tottenham would reportedly welcome the opportunity to bring McTominay back to the Premier League. If that path were to be trodden, then United could also come into the mix.
According to Caught Offside: “There is concrete interest in Scott McTominay. Manchester United would have him back, and keep an eye on Newcastle and Tottenham. Barcelona also view him as someone who could be a good fit for their midfield.”
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Were Man Utd wrong to let McTominay leave?
Many with ties to United have questioned why the Red Devils allowed McTominay to move on, given his versatility and home-grown status. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is among those to have been left baffled by a sale that made little sense.
The 1999 Treble winner handed McTominay 115 appearances during his reign as United manager and has told the Stick to Football podcast of why he would never have given the green light to a departure: “I was almost shocked because you need or want a core of the local lads, ones who get the club. Scott did.
“For me, I think he’s shown in Italy how good of a player he is. His character, personality around the place, he sets the standards and he’d survive when we played 100 per cent. He was voted Serie A Player of the Year last year and won the league with Napoli so he’s one of them that you only know when you’ve got him, how good he is and how important he can be.
“In my squad, Scotty probably wasn’t allowed to play in his best position enough, yeah [because of] Bruno [Fernandes] and maybe the lack of physicality that we had. You saw a couple of games against Leeds, we said: ‘Scott, this is a man-to-man game, we want you running through as a third man,’ and he scored, two or three, I can’t remember how many goals he scored against Leeds. That’s probably a reason because we think of him as… he’s one of the eights. Great physicality.”
While Solskjaer remains a big fan of McTominay, ex-United captain Roy Keane is not convinced that the Red Devils need to go back over old ground. He said: “I’m always wary when lads leave, for a club like Napoli now but it’s a different challenge to Man United and he’s done well.
“Good luck to the lad but I still wasn’t hanging my hat on him every week going, ‘He will be the lad that will bring Man United back.’ When you’re classing him as a squad player and someone says, ‘Here’s £30m,' it’s not a bad deal.”
McTominay contract: When Napoli deal expires
McTominay has added a further four goals to his Napoli tally this season through 14 outings across Serie A and Champions League competition. He has been joined at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona by former United colleague Rasmus Hojlund and ex-Manchester City rival Kevin De Bruyne.
He is tied to a contract through to 2028, with there no suggestion that his current employers are open to offers. In the present, McTominay forms part of the Scotland squad that are hoping to secure automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup through their upcoming clashes with Greece and Denmark.