Manchester United sold Scott McTominay to Napoli last summer and may watch the midfielder win a league title in Italy.
Manchester United needed to balance the books last summer as Ineos attempted to back Erik ten Hag with new signings.
United sold Scott McTominay to Napoli on transfer deadline day, allowing the homegrown midfielder to leave in an emotional exit.
The Scot always brought heart and endeavour to the United engine room, and his presence would surely have been welcomed by Ruben Amorim.
United chose to cash in, though, with McTominay’s homegrown status allowing the club to record his sale as pure profit.
Federico Macheda suggested United made a mistake selling McTominay, and he may well end the season with a league title to his name.
Former Napoli ace on Scott McTominay
Napoli sit second in Serie A, just three points behind league leaders Inter.
Just two victories in the last eight Serie A games mean Napoli could miss out – and would be kicking themselves for having squandered so many points.
McTominay has been an important player in this title race, starting 25 Serie A games and coming off the bench once while notching six goals and two assists.
Former Napoli midfielder Blerim Dzemaili has now praised McTominay, as quoted by Calcio Napoli 24.
Dzemaili pointed to McTominay’s schooling at United, believing that it sets him up for success at Npoli despite needing a transition to Italian football.
The former Swiss international added that McTominay’s technique and bursts into the penalty area are ‘beautiful to watch’, believing that he is the kind of player to help Napoli challenge for the title.
“McTominay comes from Manchester United, he can’t be bad, even if it’s not easy to adapt from the Premier League,” said Dzemaili.
“With his technique and his insertion, it’s beautiful to watch. Thanks to him, you can play for the scudetto,” he added.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 11 |  BrentfordBrentford | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 51 | 47 | 4 | 41 |
| 12 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 29 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 37 | 34 | 3 | 40 |
| 13 |  Man UtdManchester United | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 37 | 41 | -4 | 37 |
| 14 |  TottenhamTottenham | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 55 | 44 | 11 | 34 |
| 15 |  EvertonEverton | 30 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 32 | 37 | -5 | 34 |
Scott McTominay on his Manchester United role
McTominay has spoken to The Athletic and, unsurprisingly, answered questions about United.
The Scot feels that United ‘misprofiled’ him in the first team, shoehorning him in as a defensive midfielder.
McTominay feels that his strengths are as a box-to-box player, all action in the middle of the park and then breaking forward to score goals.
Pushing for that role was difficult when Paul Pogba was at Old Trafford, but McTominay certainly felt miscast early on.
“When I got into the first team, I was quite misprofiled in where I was playing,” said McTominay. “It wasn’t the fault of any coaches. My strengths have always been getting into the box, scoring goals, being a problem in there. But I was being used as a No 6, or as a centre-back, and that has never really been my game.
“But when you’re playing for Manchester United and you’re 20, you can’t knock on the manager’s door and say that you expect to be playing at No 8 ahead of Paul Pogba. It’s not realistic. You have to know your place, and do what you’re asked to do. In the last few seasons, I began to get into the box a bit more, to score more goals, and then last year was my best one,” he added.
McTominay doesn’t want to focus on United and certainly seems happy in Naples.
United need midfielders, though, and certainly midfielders with the kind of heart and passion McTominay showed at Old Trafford.
A route back to Manchester is unlikely for McTominay, but fans will be cheering him on for success in Italy.
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