Manchester United have a ‘rare’ talent in Scott McTominay with one Premier League skipper impressed by the way the Scotland international has set about rebuilding his reputation at Old Trafford.
They are numbers many a centre-forward would be proud of, let alone a central midfielder.
Since the end of May 2023, Scott McTominay has scored a highly-impressive 16 goals for club and country, taking his tally to eight in Manchester United colours this season with a trademark box-crashing effort away to Aston Villa on Sunday.
Considering that United appeared open to offers for McTominay in the summer – he and the similarly resurgent Harry Maguire transfer targets for West Ham – this has been quite the turnaround. The Carrington graduate going from unheralded squad player to regular match-winner in the space of just a few months.
Scott McTominay is Manchester United’s hero again
And Fulham captain Tom Cairney, who has also represented Scotland at international level, is not surprised to see a player with such a ‘ridiculous’ goalscoring record establish himself as such a key part of Ten Hag’s plans.
“He has obviously gone further back but sometimes you can see (that),” Cairney tells The Footballer’s Football Podcast when asked about McTominay’s occasional appearances as a striker in Man United’s youth sides.
“He is quite sharp with his finishing in the box. It’s like touch, bang. I remember the one at Brentford at home when they came back (from 1-0 down). I don’t think that ever leaves you.
“And his record at international record is ridiculous as well. He’s Scotland’s top goalscorer (in European Championship qualifying) by a mile.
“At some point, the manager surely has to have a feeling like ‘oh my god, surely I need to get this guy in my team’. Goalscoring midfielders are rare these days.”
Best ever goalscoring season
Only Rasmus Hojlund – with 11 – has more goals than McTominay for Man United this season. His strikes have also won United no fewer than 12 points in the Premier League too, McTominay has been scoring winners against not only Aston Villa but also Brentford and Chelsea too.
With eight goals so far, this is his best scoring season, recently surpassing the seven he scored in 2020/21 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
READ MORE: Join the conversation with the United in Focus Whatsapp group
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
