‘Goals, grit and leadership’ – McTominay hailed as ‘best midfielder in Serie A’

Manchester United’s decision to sell Scott McTominay to Napoli in the summer transfer window is one that looks increasingly flawed with each passing week.

McTominay continued his excellent start to life under Antonio Conte on Sunday as he opened the scoring for Napoli away to Inter Milan with a smart finish from a corner.

Although the Serie A leaders were subsequently pegged back by the defending champions and had to settle for a 1-1 draw, the performance of the Scotland international was once again hailed by the Italian media.

“His drive can scare even the most experienced players,” Gazzetta dello Sport said of his display.

“Against Inter, a spirit of sacrifice, strength and mentality were needed: Scott the warrior gave it his all, his duels with Barella were hailed by the Napoli fans, who recognised in the Scotsman the special signs of a total midfielder: fight, drive and goals

“Whatever Scott touches, it turns into gold.”

A complete midfield performance

CalcioNapoli, meanwhile, was also at pains to point out that the Scotland star’s performance was about more than just his goal.

“The former Manchester United midfielder was the player who covered the most distance on the pitch with 12.2 kilometres. He touched 49 balls, with a percentage of successful plays at 84%. The number of balls he won (6) stands out in particular,” it says.

“Praising McTominay for the goal alone does not do justice to the performance of the midfielder who demonstrated his ability to interpret different roles perfectly throughout the game.”

Journalist Fernando Siani, meanwhile, has also been full of praise of the ex-Man Utd man, despite Hakan Calhanoglu beating him to the Man of the Match award.

“Last time I took the liberty of saying that McTominay is the best midfielder in the league in my opinion. This probably reached Calhanoglu’s ears. With the MVP award in his hand, laughing, he said to me: ‘Ah, have you seen McTominay?'” the Amazon Prime journalist joked.

McTominay had an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €15.8 million when he moved to Napoli in the summer for €30.5m but this has already risen to €26.6m off the back of his excellent displays for Conte’s team.