Scott McTominay pictured with Napoli. (Image: 2025 Image Photo Agency)
Scott McTominay felt he was "misprofiled" when he broke into Manchester United's first-team.
McTominay was given his senior debut by Jose Mourinho in 2017, but he truly established himself in the first-team under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who predominantly played him alongside Fred.
The partnership between McTominay and Fred in the double pivot was dubbed 'McFred' and they were both regular starters during Solskjaer's reign. However, McTominay played in a more advanced midfield role during Erik ten Hag's tenure and he demonstrated his knack for scoring goals.
McTominay scored 10 goals in all competitions last term and single-handedly won points for United, but he was restricted to 18 Premier League starts and left for Napoli last summer.
United received a fixed fee of €30.5million (£25.7m) for McTominay and he's been a huge success in Naples, starring for Antonio Conte's side as they challenge Inter Milan for the Scudetto.
Speaking to The Athletic, McTominay reflected on his time in Manchester and he explained that he was misprofiled as a deep-lying midfielder when he first broke into the first-team.
“When I got into the first team, I was quite misprofiled in where I was playing,” he 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. But 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.”
McTominay continued: "They would always sign someone who wouldn’t necessarily be what people expected them to be. 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."
Speaking about his choice to join Napoli, he added: "Things were difficult in Manchester. I didn’t know what was happening exactly. And you instantly know Napoli, the passion of the fans, the quality of the league.
“People have to be careful when people say Italy or Spain aren’t on a par with the Premier League. Physically and tactically, I’ve had some of my hardest games here.”
---
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast, featuring The Samuel Luckhurst Show and The Midweek Debate. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.