Emlyn Begley

BBC Sport journalist

Italian champion. Serie A player of the year. Idolised by one of football’s most passionate fanbases. And now a Ballon d’Or nominee.

If the past year has been a dream for Scott McTominay he would not want to wake up.

The 28-year-old Napoli and Scotland midfielder’s place on the 30-man shortlist for the world’s best player was confirmed 347 days after his last game for Manchester United.

That was as a substitute. Away to Brighton. In a 2-1 defeat.

But while his boyhood club United toiled to a 15th-place finish, McTominay was living the dream in Naples, after moving for a bargain £25.7m fee on 30 August.

He finished the season with 12 league goals, Napoli won the league and McTominay was named Serie A’s MVP (most valuable player).

And like something from a film script, it was McTominay’s spectacular scissor kick against Cagliari on the last day of the season that sent Napoli on their way to winning the title.

A far cry from the player who would probably have been called solid but unspectacular at Manchester United.

So how has he become one of the top 30 footballers in the world?

McTominay has clearly flourished at Napoli. But the change that enabled all this was a tactical decision by Antonio Conte.

At Manchester United he was usually a defensive midfielder – a “water carrier”, to quote BBC pundit Pat Nevin.

And Scotland even used him at centre-back for a while before Steve Clarke started playing him in an attacking midfield role.

And if it was good enough for Clarke, it was seemingly good enough for Conte.

That choice paid dividends as McTominay scored 12 goals in 34 Serie A games for Napoli, the joint top-scoring midfielder in the league.

By contrast he had only scored 19 goals in 178 Premier League games for United.

In May journalist Vincenzo Credendino told BBC Sport: “In the system of Conte he’s not a builder, he’s a raider – the best option while you have a number nine like Romelu Lukaku.”

McTominay ranked near the top for midfielders to touch the ball in the opposition penalty area, and for duels won in Serie A.

Credendino added: “You can compare McTominay with the big midfielders of Conte’s history. In his first years at Juventus – 2011-12 and 2012-13 – Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal scored nine and 10 goals respectively.

“It’s not a coincidence. McTominay is perfect for Conte, as Conte is perfect for McTominay.”

Aside from the football, McTominay – who qualifies for Scotland through his father – is loving life on and off the pitch.

Born in Lancaster in north-west England, he joined Manchester United as a five-year-old.

But last year he decided to stand on his own two feet after 255 appearances for United.

Speaking about living abroad, he told BBC Radio 5 Live recently: “It gives you more mental strength.

“I’ve always lived very close to my mum, so I could go whenever I wanted.

“Now I live 1,500 miles away so I can’t just go home and see my mum, my family, my sister and my kids so it’s different, but in life you sometimes have to take yourself out of your comfort zone and I’ve always prided myself on that.

“I would never want to be in my comfort zone, and if I can go away anywhere and establish myself and do well, why not? Who’s to stop me doing that?”

Having his friend and Scotland team-mate Billy Gilmour helps. The midfielder joined Napoli on the same day as McTominay from Brighton.

“It’s different, a totally different way of life over there – the way you eat, the way you live and all that,” continued McTominay.

“I’ve been lucky that I have one of my good friends there in Billy Gilmour and he’s been great with me. We’ve helped each other out along the way and drive each other in different things.

“It’s been great, and I’m someone in life who just wants to take it head-on. I just want to go out and give it my absolute best – the different culture and language and have a great time.”

Napoli is a club whose legends are idolised in a way not always seen elsewhere – most notably Diego Maradona.

Last season’s success was only the fourth Serie A title in Napoli’s history – and McTominay became the face of Conte’s revolution.

His image was painted on to a city centre shrine.

San Ciro’s restaurant in Edinburgh have a Scotland flag bearing with the words ‘Napoli. McTominay. Pizza. In that order.’

Ciro Sartore, who co-owns the restaurant with his brother Santo, said: “Napoli fans love when a player commits to the city, and him kissing the Napoli badge shows how much the love and appreciation means to him. Obviously, scoring a lot of goals helps too.”

Fans got tattoos of him, with one on a supporter’s leg – using his nickname McFratm (basically McBro) – went viral.

Before they settled on that one – and he says it is his favourite – he was also called McTerminator, MacGyver and apribottiglie (the bottle opener).

“The people in Naples are incredible,” said McTominay recently.

“They’re so passionate and everywhere you go there are people who say ‘Forza Napoli’ and they want to speak to you and have a conversation. That inspires you every time you go on the pitch because they care.

“Every time we go on the pitch it’s inspiring and we want to push ourselves to go out and win.”

Journalist Credendino added: “He is the symbol of the attitude of this Napoli, with his intensity and sacrifice in every game.”

Related topics