Scott McTominay is on the verge of leaving Manchester United, with a £25 million transfer to Napoli expected to be finalized before the 11 pm deadline on transfer day. The Scottish international came through the ranks of his boyhood club, but his youth career wasn’t exceptional. Due to his lack of height and physicality, the midfielder found it tough and accredited United’s patience in him. He said :

“I think when I was 13 or 14, if I was at another club who weren’t as patient with me as I was smaller and not playing games, I think they might have thought: ‘We’ll just get rid of him”.

However, it would all change when he grew by 10 inches in 12 months and reached an impressive 6 foot 4 inches. This would lead him to begin to feature for the academy before becoming a member of the squad under Jose Mourinho in the 2017/18 season.

He would then continue to progress as he was named ‘Manager’s Player of the Year’ by his Portuguese manager. Since then, the 27-year-old cemented his place in the Red Devils squad, before his move to Napoli for a fee in the region of £25.4m.

Strengths

His height and physicality are a prominent part of his game, which he utilises regularly. McTominay is at his best when he is making late-arriving runs into the box and getting onto the end of crosses as seen in his most recent season. This is suggested by his stats, which see him in the top 1% of non-penalty goals from midfielders in Europe’s top 5 leagues at 0.31 per 90. Furthermore, his touches in the opposition penalty area also rank high with 2.47 per 90.

Scott McTominay coming up clutch 💯@ManUtd https://t.co/s8Prp3lvcE pic.twitter.com/d2w4h6lg2Y

— Premier League India (@PLforIndia) May 22, 2024

When talking about his attacking instincts, he explained :

“Just being alive in the box and being quick with it and not being on your heels or sleeping in the box [is key] – whenever there’s a chance for a goal to go in the back of the net you need to take it. I’ve always thought like that.”

Whilst proving to be an attacking threat, McTominay is also decent defensively. In his earlier years in the first team, he was deployed much more defensively as shown by his brilliant stats in the 2020/21 season as he was in the top 20 percentile for tackles, clearances and interceptions. In more recent years, his role has changed and has become an attacking threat, Despite this, he still reached the top 10% for clearances and aerials won in the Premier League. 

With Manchester United struggling to score goals in Ten hag’s new system, McTominay will be a big miss especially as goal scoring threat to be subbed on against tiring defenses.

Erik Ten Hag when asked about McTominay’s departure, said”

“I am very happy for him, but it is mixed because I wouldn’t prefer to lose him.

“He is Manchester United in everything, he was so important for Manchester United.

“He was here for over 22 years but unfortunately it is the rules.

“Homegrown players bring more value and that is not the right thing to do but for everyone, for all parts, it is a good deal.

These strengths will be crucial towards Conte’s system due to the lack of physicality in Serie A. This is shown through the success of Ruben Loftus Cheek at AC Milan as his stats show his physical superiority.

Limitations

Despite his talents, the midfielder is still limited on the ball. Erik Ten Hag has severely reduced his minutes in the past few seasons as he lacks the technical abilities on the ball compared to the likes of Christian Eriksen and Kobbie Mainoo. This has resided him to a role on the bench and often coming on to score a goal. Evidence to suggest his lack of quality on the ball is his passes completed and progressive passes are in the bottom 10% in Europe’s top 5 leagues.

In addition, the 27-year-old often misses out on the big games due to his poor talents on the ball. Against teams like Manchester City and Arsenal, this has been an issue with their possession-based football. In Italy, this could become a prominent issue against midfielders like Hakan Calhanoglu, who are much better at retaining possession.

His defensive abilities could also be argued to be limited as Ten Hag has opted for a move for Manuel Ugarte. The Uruguayan international excels as a ball-winning midfielder as seen by his exceptional numbers defensively as his tackles and interceptions are some of the best in Europe, whilst his attacking numbers are the complete opposite to McTominay.

How will he fit Conte’s system

Antonio Conte has arrived at Napoli after the club faced a disappointing 2023/24 season as they finished 10th place. The Italian’s system sees a back three deployed with two wing-backs on either side to add width and attacking threat through their crosses. McTominay caters to this with his ability to win headers and get on the end of crosses into the box. The back three utilised also allows a midfielder to progress further forward as they offer defensive cover.

Conte has often used physically strong midfielders in his time in the league as seen by his use of Pogba and Vidal during his time at Juventus. The duo reached just over 40 goal contributions combined in the 2013/14 campaign as the club won their third consecutive title with a record amount of points at 102.

However, the lack of technical ability could leave him as a liability in terms of possession as Italian football vastly differs from the English game. Overall, the signing of McTominay could be one of the signings of the summer and will add something new to the Napoli squad. Despite this, he also has limitations, which could see him struggle this season especially when Napoli are on the backfoot against the bigger teams.