Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a reality check in their pursuit of Napoli midfielder Scott McTominay and it’s one that should have been painfully obvious – but will it stop them?
Talk of a Premier League return for McTominay has been widespread over the past week. His move from Manchester United to Napoli last summer was a roaring success and culminated in not only a Serie A winner’s medal, but the award for being the best player in the league last season.
TEAMtalk’s Fraser Fletcher revealed that Tottenham have put McTominay on their radar – a link that’s since been backed up by other outlets too.
However, signing McTominay from Napoli won’t be straightforward, with the latest insight coming from Football Insider‘s Pete O’Rourke.
“I can’t imagine Napoli will be open to letting Scott McTominay leave,” the journalist warned.
“He’s such a key man for them. He’s their talisman right now in that Napoli side, especially now with Kevin De Bruyne out injured.
“They’ll need to keep hold of their best players and McTominay is definitely that. Four goals in 11 appearances this season and Napoli are top of Serie A again.
“Napoli won’t want to weaken their squad by losing such an important player like Scott McTominay. He’s under contract until 2028, so, to even consider selling him would be a huge fee as well.”
Napoli stance no surprise – but what next for Spurs?
Realistically, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to Spurs. Despite some odd claims last week that McTominay was struggling with the off-field attention he gets in Naples – something sources have denied – his current situation is a match made in heaven.
McTominay is thriving and that’s good for both his career and Napoli’s prospects as they aim to do something they’ve never done before: win back-to-back Serie A titles.
Of course Napoli wouldn’t be keen on letting one of their best players leave. Our original report last week shed light on their plans to offer him a contract renewal until 2030.
Those talks could take place in January, a month in which the transfer window being open would have almost no bearing on McTominay’s immediate status.
If he was to leave Napoli, it would be far more likely to occur next summer than midway through this season, but even then it would be a tall order.
Thus, Spurs will have to decide how highly they value McTominay, how important he would be to their plans and how much money it’s worth putting on the table to try and tempt Napoli.
If they have their wits about them, though, it would be prudent to draw up some alternative targets as well, perhaps with similar skillsets to the Scotland international.
Tottenham transfer news: Man Utd warning
If it was easier to get their hands on McTominay, Tottenham could succeed where Man Utd failed by getting the best out of him in English football.
However, one pundit has warned that United could be looking to hijack a Spurs deal for a different midfielder.
In other news, David Ornstein has named an Everton player as Tottenham’s dream signing.