Scott McTominay showed his worth once again by scoring twice in Napoli’s 2-2 draw at San Siro, earning the Scottish star even more widespread recognition in the Italian media.
Scott McTominay played a starring role in the draw between Napoli and Inter Milan (Image: AP)
Hindsight is very useful in life, but it’s even more useful when analyzing mistakes made in the transfer market. There is no club out there that hasn’t felt a little foolish by parting ways with a player who went on to go on to great success elsewhere.
And the truth is, Scott McTominay wasn’t, and never was, an automatic starter under some managers. However, in his final season at Manchester United, McTominay made 43 appearances in all competitions, scoring 10 goals and providing three assists.
And whenever he was on the pitch, he was a powerful presence. No matter what you think of his limitations, it was impossible to deny his fortitude and dedication.
Again, as great as the results were and as popular as McTominay was, primarily among United supporters, not least because he showed great determination to get through, no one could have predicted that he would be named Player of the Year in his first season in Serie A. Few could have imagined that he would become such an important cog in Napoli’s title-winning machine.
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Few could have imagined that selling him would be anything close to the equivalent of Liverpool letting Steven Gerrard go. On a weekend when Danny Welbeck scored again against United, and on a weekend when Marcus Rashford won his first medal for Barcelona, McTominay once again inspired Napoli in a 2-2 draw at Inter Milan, scoring both goals, after a mistake of his own gave the home side the lead.
The 29-year-old’s performance was met with unanimous praise from the Italian media. In Saudi Arabia, Rashford enjoyed Barcelona’s victory over Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final, but only came on as a substitute in the 83rd minute.
Marcus Rashford celebrates becoming the first Barcelona player to win the accolade (Image: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
And there is no way Rashford would have been handed a tough contract by United. If anything, he has indulged over the years.
Just because Rashford is enjoying his time at Barcelona doesn’t mean United made a mistake by sending him out on loan. It’s easy to be a revisionist. That’s true of McTominay’s case, and even more true of Houellebecq’s timeline.
There may have been a case to buy him back at some stage afterwards, but when Welbeck was sold there were plenty of quality strikers ahead of him at Old Trafford. But Welbeck, and especially McTominay’s relative success elsewhere, highlights what United appear to be lacking, independent of any coaching or management failings.
Danny Welbeck scores Brighton’s second goal in the FA Cup win at Old Trafford (Image: )
Character, spirit and contagious attitude. These are qualities that come instinctively from the players, not from the manager. Those are qualities that United seem to lack at the moment.
That may change. For example, the summer recruits seem to be mainly made of the right ingredients.
And in August 2024, most observers thought £25m for McTominay was a reasonable fee. In August 2024, most observers would not have dropped McTominay, who finished 18th in the 2025 Ballon d’Or voting. But his drive and commitment at Napoli and then Milan at the weekend shows how United’s standards have fallen.
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