Scott McTominay of Napoli celebrates with teammates and head coach Antonio Conte
Scott McTominay of Napoli celebrates with teammates and head coach Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte says midfielder Scott McTominay has 'become a protagonist' after their former Manchester United player starred once again for Napoli.
United agreed a deal to sell McTominay to the Serie A club last summer for a fee worth €30.5million (£25.3million). The United academy graduate has since gone on to make 12 appearances for Napoli, scoring four goals with two assists in his debut season in Italy.
Much has changed at United since McTominay's departure back in August. Erik ten Hag is no longer the club's manager, with Ruben Amorim now the new head coach at Old Trafford and won his first Premier League match on Sunday with the 4-0 victory over Everton.
McTominay was also in action on Sunday as he scored the only goal for Napoli in a 1-0 win away at Torino in Serie A. The win moved four points clear of Atalanta at the top of the table but have played one game more than their title rivals.
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The strike was McTominay's fourth of the season since moving to Naples, adding to the 10 he scored in all competitions for United last term. Conte has reflected on the Scotland international's start to life in Italy and explained why McTominay is a big fan of the former United star.
"McTominay? He is a boy who was not a protagonist at United, I knew him well because I was frequently in the Premier [League]," Conte told reporters on Sunday, via TuttoMercatoWeb.
"He has quality, we were good and lucky because he agreed to come in a situation in which we were not playing in Europe and after a tenth place.
"He could have seen Napoli as a demotion, instead he came to be a protagonist. And time will tell."