Conte shows Ten Hag where he went wrong

Robin Bairner

• 23 Sept 2024 08:09 BST
• 3 min read

Antonio Conte has shown Erik ten Hag how he should have used Scott McTominay at Manchester United.

The Scotland international midfielder finished last season as Man Utd’s joint third-top scorer with 10 goals, yet that still did not stop him being cast to the exit this summer in exchange for €30 million from Conte’s Napoli.

Although he came through the Red Devils’ academy, McTominay struggled to find space in the first team at Old Trafford. He found himself largely pigeonholed as a deep-lying midfielder whose primary job was to break up play and disrupt Man Utd’s opponents.

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With Scotland, a hint of McTominay’s true potential was unlocked by Steve Clarke. Deployed in a more attacking role, the box-crashing capabilities of the 27-year-old were made evident.

It is this more attacking McTominay that Conte clearly wants to see at Napoli. This was made evident in Saturday’s scoreless draw against Juventus.

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McTominay shine as a 10

It was the Scot’s first start for his new club, having come off the bench against Cagliari six days earlier, and it proved an impressive one.

McTominay was given a more advanced role in the midfield, almost playing as a No.10, in which he was able to gather possession in pockets of space that allowed him to turn and run at the home defence. He was highly effective in this regard, carrying the main threat for Conte’s side on a day when they did not fire on all cylinders.

“It was the Scotsman’s performance that caught the eye — rhythm, initiative and quality of service to the team. A bit of what was missing from Conte’s midfield, which will hardly be able to do without the former Man Utd player,” SportMediaSet wrote of McTominay’s full debut.

“McTominay has shown that he can be the right man to make this Napoli team take a leap in quality.”

McTominay was never going to be given such responsibility at Man Utd under Ten Hag, and the early signs are that under the astute management of Conte, both he and Napoli can thrive.