'Scott McTominay has goals in his blood'

Cameron Smith

• 30 Sept 2024 11:40 BST
• 3 min read

Scott McTominay has “goals in his blood,” according to Napoli manager Antonio Conte.

The Scotland international joined the Serie A giants from Manchester United for €30.5 million in August and he has enjoyed a fantastic start to life in Italy.

McTominay, 27, starred on his full debut against Juventus, scored his first goal versus Palermo last week and bagged his first assist during a 2-0 win over Monza on Sunday.

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Conte, who has moved away from his preferred three-at-the-back formation in order to accommodate McTominay, was quick to praise the ex-Man Utd midfielder after Napoli’s latest victory.

“Scott is a player who has goals in his blood; he’s very good at making runs into the box," Conte told reporters (as per The Daily Record).

“He has excellent technical qualities, as well as an important physical stature. And he’s strong in the air. In his DNA, he has quite a few goals.”

McTominay scored 29 goals in 255 first-team games for Man Utd, including 10 during his final season with the Red Devils.

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Man Utd criticised for Scott McTominay decision

Following McTominay’s sublime start at Napoli, former West Ham United cult hero Paulo Di Canio has slammed Man Utd for their decision to sell the Scotland star and sign Manuel Ugarte.

After Napoli’s win over Monza, he told Sky Italia: “How can you sell McTominay for €30m to get Ugarte for €50m? Ugarte is used to Lisbon, he played two excellent years at Sporting, but the Premier League is another thing.

“Today in Manchester it was 10 degrees, it’s been raining for 10 days, in Lisbon it’s 25 degrees.”

Ugarte made his first Premier League start for Man Utd during their 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, although he was substituted for Christian Eriksen after 72 minutes on the pitch.