Criminally underrated during his time at Manchester United, Scott McTominay has taken off to new heights since join Napoli in Serie A. Regarded by his teammates and opponents as the best player in the league last season, Scott McTominay continues to shine as a non-stop, all-action, goal-scoring midfielder.
Embed from Getty ImagesToward the end of his time with United, the Scottish midfielder had already begun this transition into an important presence in both penalty areas. He even notched 7 goals in his final full season in the Prem.
But now in Serie A, Scott McTominay has emerged as one of the most important players for one of the most historic clubs, scoring goals for fun week in and week out. Here is why Scott McTominay has become the main man in Naples.
SECOND STRIKER TO LATE ARRIVING RUNS
For both club and country, Scott McTominay has become the threat that his teammates look to every time they want to play the ball into the penalty area. He’s the key threat from set-pieces, and he’s the one to find on any cross, cut-back or ball into the box.
Sometimes, McTominay will stay inside the box as the team work it around, acting almost as a second striker.
Other times, he’s ghosting in from a late arriving run.
Here’s Scott McTominay starting from just inside the half as this attack breaks.
This is where he ends up on his final surge into space to score.
From these positions (in and around the six-yard box), McTominay is deadly. He’s far too strong for the majority of defenders in the league, easily able to shrug them off, and clinical with every scoring bone in his body. He can score with his left, right, head, bicycle, whatever he wants.
Of his 10 goals for club and country this season, Scott’s scored 5 with his head, 2 with his left, and three with his right. He’s great on the volley, powerful in the air, and sublime at picking out a corner.
Embed from Getty ImagesThey can even play a pass over the top for McTominay to run onto, where he can find the back of the net Jamie Vardy styled.
The presence that McTominay provides is not only fantastic for finding the back of the net, but fantastic for finding a teammate to score instead. He’s not the most creative playmaker in the world, but he’s great at knocking the ball onto others, finding the right pass, and using his aerial presence to find a teammate in a better position.
For that matter, his four assists this season have also come from several situations where he finds a delightful pass into space for his teammate to run onto.
He can pick out a smart pass into space, find his striker when needed, and then work himself into the box later on.
But strikers playing alongside McTominay know so well of his aerial threat, that they will often move out wide to pick up the pass and make their magic from the assist instead. Here’s Romelu Lukaku shifting wide to cross the ball onto McTominay’s noggin.
Normally you might expect the image to look the other way around. But with 12 goals last season, you can see why everyone else was getting out of the way for McTominay to score.
In fact, this is a team that can cater to the way that McTominay plays. They have plenty of players with quality from a dead-ball or whipped in cross.
They also have several stars who command attention. Lukaku’s been replaced by another former United man in Rasmus Højlund. Kevin de Bruyne’s operating alongside him now and then. Frank Anguissa and David Neres can bulldoze their way forward. The full-backs in Leonardo Spinazzola and Giovanni di Lorenzo are brilliant ball players. There’s quality around the pitch. And still, they all want to find McTominay for that final touch.
And it’s not just them finding McTominay, but McTominay finding them. The Scottish midfielder is brilliant at driving forward. He’s never afraid to find space on the ball.
Given his power and frame, the sight of McTominay on the ball is a scary one. It often forces the opposition to backpedal, where he only presents himself and others with more space to score.
And that work rate continues to the same extent off-the-ball. He’s great at shutting down spaces in transition, he’s an excellent ball-winner, and he’s never the type to lose his head. A cool cucumber in the centre of the park, the 29-year-old has picked up just 1 yellow card all season.
With his partner being a player with the defensive aptitude of Stanislav Lobotka, Napoli don’t lose many midfield battles. And as soon as they win the ball, they have all the cover they need in behind to continue charging forward.
Napoli might not be top of the table at the moment after a couple consecutive draws. But with McTominay among the leaders of the club, Antonio Conte’s team are well within the fight. And for McTominay’s own purposes, he’s on track for another fight for Serie A player of the season, and the top scoring midfielder in the league once more.
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