Former Manchester United star Scott McTominay has claimed he was ‘misprofiled’ at Old Trafford, having discovered the best form of his career since his summer move to Napoli.
McTominay, who made his debut for Manchester United in 2017 after rising the club’s youth ranks, called an end to his seven-year spell at Old Trafford last summer by joining Napoli for £26million.
The Scotsman has been superb since teaming up with Antonio Conte at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, chalking up 10 goal contributions from midfield in his 26 Serie A appearances so far.
McTominay could even end his debut season in Italy with his hands on the Serie A title, given Napoli are just three points behind league leaders Inter Milan with nine games to go.
In an interview with The Athletic this week, McTominay — who made over 250 appearances during his time at Manchester United — insisted he could have been better used by his managers, accusing them of ‘misprofiling’ him.
Rather than being deployed in the box-to-box role that has brought him success at Napoli, the Scottish star was predominantly used as a defensive midfielder, or No 6, during his time at Manchester United, occasionally even being asked to fill in at centre-back.
Ex-Manchester United star Scott McTominay has claimed he was ‘misprofiled’ at Old Trafford
Rather than being deployed in the box-to-box role that has brought him success at Napoli, McTominay was predominantly used as a defensive midfielder at Manchester United
McTominay broke into the Manchester United side under Jose Mourinho (right) in 2017
‘When I got into the first team, I was quite misprofiled in where I was playing,’ McTominay said.
‘It wasn’t the fault of any coaches. My strengths have always been getting into the box, scoring goals, being a problem in there. But I was being used as a No 6, or as a centre-back, and that has never really been my game.’
After breaking through the ranks under Jose Mourinho, the 6ft 4in midfielder was coached by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag, leaving the club shortly before Ruben Amorim’s arrival.
Ahead of his move to Napoli, McTominay enjoyed a superb scoring streak for Scotland on the international stage, showcasing what he could do when consistently utilised further forward.
In total, he boasts 11 goals in 58 appearances for his country — and has scored seven in 28 games for Napoli this term.
Explaining why he was ‘misprofiled’ by his Manchester United managers, McTominay added: ‘When you’re playing for Manchester United and you’re 20, you can’t knock on the manager’s door and say that you expect to be playing at No 8 ahead of Paul Pogba. It’s not realistic. You have to know your place, and do what you’re asked to do.
‘In the last few seasons, I began to get into the box a bit more, to score more goals, and then last year was my best one.
‘They would always sign someone who wouldn’t necessarily be what people expected them to be.
The Scot admitted he had to be ‘realistic’ with the likes of Paul Pogba (above) at the club
The midfielder has had goal-scoring success in a more advanced role for Scotland as well
McTominay has scored seven in 28 games for Napoli under Antonio Conte (above) this term
‘My mentality was that I was always there, ready to go, ready to take my opportunity. I always wanted to prove my worth, to show I could play every game. It’s not the sort of thing that affects me. You can only be in control of what you do.’
McTominay’s next game in Serie A comes against high-flying Bologna on Monday, before clashes with Empoli, Monza, Torino and Lecce.
Meanwhile, Serie A title rivals Inter Milan face Parma at the weekend before a crucial Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich next Tuesday.
Should Conte’s side prevail in the Serie A race, it would mark McTominay’s first domestic title of his career, having won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup during his time at Old Trafford.
