Scott McTominay has come to define the “footballer who leaves Man Utd to become good” trope, but he’s proving one thing beyond doubt at this World Cup.
After losses to Morocco and Brazil, Scotland face a nervous wait to see their road ahead in the World Cup as one of the third-placed teams.
Their single win is a narrow one against Haiti, with Scott McTominay failing to flourish in any game.
It proves one thing definitively after his exploits at Napoli had people getting carried away to bash Man Utd.
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Scott McTominay is a specialist Man Utd didn’t need
McTominay started like a house on fire at Napoli and hasn’t looked back since, while United invested the money from his sale to buy Manuel Ugarte.
It’s easy to look at that chain of events and come to the conclusion that United completely missed a trick.
While Ugarte’s failure at Old Trafford makes the latter part of that equation true, the nuance lies in the playing profiles of both players.
McTominay plays his best football as a box-crashing, goalscoring central midfielder who comes alive when a chance falls to him.
He doesn’t particularly excel at any part of being a traditional midfielder, be it his ball-carrying, progressive passing, or positioning to cut off attacks.
He doesn’t even offer himself as a passing outlet in midfield, and can only be trusted to keep the ball ticking with simple and safe passes.
All of these shortcomings have been highlighted during this World Cup, where Scotland haven’t had the luxury of creating chances for McTominay.
Instead, McTominay’s presence as a passenger in midfield hindered their build-up, because when he isn’t scoring, he isn’t doing much else.
McTominay flourishes at Napoli in a simplified midfield role where he uses his engine to cover ground, and the ball falls to him near or inside the opponent’s box.
If a team wants to play on the front foot, with the ball, keeping possession, then McTominay becomes a liability in the midfield.
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Comparing Ugarte to McTominay, or calling out United for selling him, doesn’t take that nuance into account that McTominay has a specialist skill set the club just didn’t need at the time.
Bruno Fernandes has the No. 10 spot locked, which is a creative role at United, and McTominay can’t play defensive midfield in an elite team.
If he were at Man Utd right now, he’d still be a squad player, starting the odd game as a solid engine at the base of the midfield.
Or he’d be an overqualified Marouane Fellaini, which is a role Erik ten Hag chose for him late on in games where United needed a goal.
This World Cup has shown that McTominay is a unique player who requires a specific setup to get the best out of him. United were never going to do that.
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