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Former Manchester United star Scott McTominay is about to be nominated for the 2025 Ballon d’Or because the 28-year-old midfielder’s meteoric rise with Napoli reveals no indicators of slowing down.
From Zero to Hero
Throughout McTominay’s time with United, he was a much-maligned determine amongst the fanbase, regardless of the Scotland worldwide all the time being trusted by the revolving door of managers at Previous Trafford.
Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag all rated McTominay extremely and thought of him a precious member of their respective squads due to his angle, physicality, work-rate and tactical flexibility.
However this skill to adapt to his supervisor’s wants led the Carrington graduate to being not often deployed in his finest place, as an alternative largely taking part in as a defensive midfielder throughout his 255 United appearances as a result of of a paucity of different choices on the membership.
McTominay lacks the technical skill to function as a deep-lying midfielder, notably if he’s partnered with gamers like Fred, Bruno Fernandes, or Paul Pogba, gamers who will search to drive ahead and go away the Scot to anchor the midfield on his personal.
McTominay turned vilified for his performances as a defensive midfielder as a result of his, and the staff’s, struggles, when he was performed there. However his finest place is undoubtedly as a box-crashing quantity eight – a job he solely actually started to get pleasure from as an choice off the bench beneath Ten Hag in his closing season with United.
Devoid of defensive duty and free to press and harass the opposition midfield and defence, McTominay’s excellent bodily attributes and stunning nostril for purpose make him a superb box-to-box midfielder if his supervisor is prepared to compromise on his skills in possession.
It’s not McTominay’s fault he was shoehorned into a job that didn’t swimsuit his skillset. Relatively, it’s a testomony to his professionalism and sacrifice that he was prepared to play wherever he was requested with out criticism – a selflessness sorely missing at Previous Trafford within the post-Sir Alex Ferguson malaise.
McTominay left his boyhood membership final summer season to hitch Italian aspect Napoli in a deal value £25.7 million together with his standing as an academy participant driving United’s want to promote because the payment constituted ‘pure revenue’ from a PSR perspective.
However Naples has confirmed an excellent vacation spot with the Serie A large headed by Antonio Conte, a supervisor who values physicality and self-discipline from his midfielders as a lot as ability and method.
Conte unleashed McTominay’s true potential within the 2024/25 marketing campaign by deploying him as essentially the most superior a part of a three-man midfield unit – a call which has seen the 28-year-old elevate to a degree few believed he was succesful and has made him a darling of the football-centric Italian metropolis.
A Ballon d’Or Contender
Napoli clinched the Serie A title on the final day of the season with a 2-0 win over Cagliari forward of rivals Inter Milan.
McTominay scored an excellent bicycle kick to open proceedings – his twelfth league purpose of the marketing campaign, together with 4 assists.
After the match, amidst raucous celebrations within the Diego Armanda Maradona stadium as Napoli lifted simply their fourth Scudetto 99-year historical past, he was topped as Serie A’s MVP, an award for the league’s finest participant in a season.
However the Scot is now set to be recognised for his performances on a world scale, not simply inside Italian soccer.
Journalist SamC_reports reveals McTominay has been “nominated for the 2025 Ballon d’Or” – a very astonishing achievement for a participant many United followers had written off at factors over earlier seasons.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Scott McTominay has been nominated for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, I perceive.
28 years previous. 48 video games. 16 targets.
Serie A champion with Napoli.⁰His first ever nomination. From squad participant to world elite.
Congrats, Scott! pic.twitter.com/CHHxaDRAo2
— Sam C (@SamC_reports) August 6, 2025
Tweet: “EXCLUSIVE: Scott McTominay has been nominated for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, I perceive. 28 years previous. 48 video games. 16 targets. Serie A champion with Napoli. His first ever nomination. From squad participant to world elite.”
Whereas it could be tempting to have interaction in a way of remorse at McTominay’s progress since leaving United, it’s an ascension which might by no means have occurred at Previous Trafford; it required a change of surroundings and supervisor for the Scot to grow to be a legend in Italy.
Characteristic picture Francesco Pecoraro through Getty Photographs
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