Scott McTominay has transformed into a much more dangerous player since hitting the prime years of his career and joining Napoli – and now some clubs back in the Premier League are eyeing him.
When McTominay left Manchester United last summer, he did so on the back of his best goalscoring season in the Premier League, with seven goals in the 2023-24 top flight. However, he left under the cloud of a build-up of critical judgements from years gone by in which he was less effective – or even misused – at Old Trafford.
Over in Italy, McTominay has taken his game to a whole new level. As someone who played as a striker in youth football before being converted into a midfielder, the Man Utd academy graduate has been able to blend his best talents in Antonio Conte’s system – which even came to be built around him last season.
Yes, Conte even dispersed with his characteristic back-three formation to shift to a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 in which McTominay could play as an advanced, box-breaking midfielder.
It worked. McTominay scored 12 goals in his debut season with Napoli, firing them to the Serie A title and also claiming the league’s MVP award.
Meanwhile, back at Old Trafford, no player – including strikers, let alone midfielders – scored double figures of goals in the 2024-25 Premier League season. It wasn’t a good look.
The question is whether McTominay would have been able to replicate that form back in the Premier League, or was the element of surprise what made him effective in a new environment in Serie A?
For those wondering, the prospect of a Premier League return for McTominay has come into focus recently. One report in The Sun, explaining the motive for a potential return to home soil, claimed he was struggling to deal with the attention he gets in Naples.
Our sources state that that part isn’t true. But there are avenues for him to come back to the Premier League.
TEAMtalk’s Fraser Fletcher has revealed that Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are both interested in McTominay.
Current state of Tottenham midfield
Tottenham have been looking for more dynamism in their midfield for a while, which makes McTominay a player of intrigue – but how would they use him if they were able to tempt him away from his adoring Neapolitan base?
So far this season, Thomas Frank has been setting Tottenham up in either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 shape. Either system utilises three central midfielders, with the difference being whether one sits as an anchor or two play in a double pivot behind a no. 10.
Frank has fielded various combinations in midfield. The only ones seen more than once have been: Joao Palhinha sitting with Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr either side; Bentancur sitting with Lucas Bergvall and Sarr either side; and Palhinha and Bentancur in a double pivot, with either Bergvall or Xavi Simons in attacking midfield.
The versatile Archie Gray has gained some gametime across various roles, but Yves Bissouma – out of contract at the end of the season – and James Maddison have been unable to play this season due to injury. The same goes for Dejan Kulusevski, one of the options for the no. 10 role.
But if McTominay was to be added into the mix, what combination would he fit into best?
Where McTominay has played for Napoli
Last season, when playing in a 4-2-3-1, McTominay was most commonly deployed as an attacking midfielder, rather than being wasted in a double pivot like he used to be for United.
However, it was more common for Napoli to play a 4-3-3 formation, in which McTominay would tend to be the left-sided central midfielder – still with licence to get forward.
Weight off his shoulders, McTominay has made the most of his newfound freedom. If anyone wants to give him another chance in the Premier League – and the bigger if would be whether or not he wants to take it – they would need to keep in mind why he’s had more success with Napoli and not limit his ability to have an impact in the final third.
The formula is clear to follow. If Spurs envisage a 4-3-3 with McTominay in, his role as one of the no. 8s seems obvious. But in a 4-2-3-1, they would have to consider him for the attacking-midfield berths.
That’s where they’ve been having to do without Maddison and Kulusevski because of their injuries this season, but once fit, they – and Simons – would be competition for the same position.
Interestingly, McTominay has been tested as a left-winger at times this season, partially as a consequence of Napoli adding Kevin de Bruyne into their midfield.
Left wing is the top priority position for Spurs to find a fixed solution in at the moment, and while McTominay himself wouldn’t be the answer, adding someone like him who can support attacks in that kind of territory could ease the burden.
But it seems a tall order to be able to prise him away from Napoli, where he remains under contract until 2028.
A January move seems difficult, so the situation would have to be assessed in the summer. At the same time, Spurs will have other questions to answer for their midfield. Do they keep Palhinha on a permanent basis after his loan from Bayern Munich? Do they release Bissouma at the end of his contract?
However they resolve those kind of issues, McTominay would be an interesting new element to add into the mix – if used in the right position. But a lot of groundwork needs to be done before Spurs can judge their chances of bringing him back to Britain.